But when it came to election night, it was DeSantis who threw the frenzied victory party, winning re-election by a 20-point landslide, nearly 15 points ahead of Trump’s margin in 2020. At the party, DeSantis supporters yelled, “Two more years!” — encouraging the governor to seek the presidency before completing his second term.
By contrast, Trump’s own sentries were reduced by Wednesday morning as a tropical storm blew toward his Mar-a-Lago resort, which is in a mandatory evacuation zone. Trump thanked reporters for attending on Tuesday night, boasted about his record of winning endorsements, and took a brief moment to congratulate several Republican candidates who won or were leading. But not DeSantis.
“Wouldn’t it be interesting if general elections were better than elections? [primary] Trump mused as if he was handling the results himself. I spent time among people.
After leaving the stage, Trump took to his social media site Truth Social to support the downfall of Republican Senate candidates Don Bolduc of New Hampshire and Joe O’Dea of Colorado. night.
The full picture of Tuesday’s results is yet to be finalized, with Trump winning several victories over some of his favorite candidates in the Marquee Senate race, including Ted Budd of North Carolina and JD Vance of Ohio. (Vance, in particular, thanks to dozens That said, the election results are becoming divisive for the Republican Party, and it wasn’t the explosion Trump hoped to take credit for himself before announcing his 2024 candidacy so quickly.
“Candidate quality matters,” said longtime Republican commentator Eric Ericsson of what he described as a disappointing result for Trump. “They weren’t good candidates. They were loyal to him above all else. Republicans could still get both.” [chambers] But this is not the night they expected.
Trump’s allies admitted their early return fell short of grand expectations, but remained bullish about the chances of a Republican gaining full control of Congress.
“President Trump will look to the future and continue to champion the America First agenda, which has won an overwhelming majority at the ballot box,” said Taylor Gravitch, president’s spokesperson. He described President Trump’s endorsement win-loss record as “a truly unprecedented achievement, made possible only by President Trump’s ability to pick and choose winners.”
DeSantis’ allies touted his re-election on Tuesday as a sign that the national Republican energy was behind him. It seemed poised to win Miami-Dade County, which hadn’t been claimed by Republicans since the previous governor.
Still, DeSantis wasn’t the only potential Trump challenger to appear encouraged rather than reluctant to clear the field for Trump on Tuesday night.Tim Senator Scott (RS.C.) used his victory speech to allude to his own potential ambitions, saying that his grandfather “perhaps lived long enough to see another person of color elected president of the United States.” I wanted to,’ he said.
And Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin appeared on Fox News and winked at his own aspirations. Talked about running. Yonkin said, “Well, thank you. I’ve always been humbled by this discussion.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp met Trump in his victory speech after surviving a major challenge encouraged by Trump and winning re-election on Tuesday, far ahead of Trump’s handpicked Senate candidate Herschel Walker. He blamed “both incumbent and former presidents” for criticizing his early move to lift pandemic restrictions.
Midterm elections inevitably turn into referendums for the ruling party, and Trump voted for him this year, too. He himself wasn’t on the ballot, but the “Trump ticket,” as he called it, a list of candidates endorsed in key states. After the 2018 and 2020 losses, rifts are sure to emerge within the Republican Party over the electoral viability of Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign.
Their success encourages hardliners to push to reshape the party to suit Trump’s image, while losing winnable seats means Trump’s control over the party will determine a close election. Adds concern that it is hindering its chances with independents and swing voters.
“Candidate Trump was undermining the party and the message of all candidates,” said Bill Paratucci, a member of the Republican National Committee of New Jersey and a Trump critic. He did not participate in the voting. “We’ve always had to distance ourselves from endorsing the former president.”
Trump has by far the most influence in the Republican primaries this cycle, with nearly 82% of the candidates he endorsed (excluding incumbents) winning, according to Washington Post analysis is included. In some cases, Trump jumped in to join candidates already on the winning path, such as Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano. But for other lawmakers, such as Mehmet Oz, who nominated him for the Senate primary in the same state, Trump’s endorsement was decidedly decisive. But on Tuesday night, Mastriano was expected to lose dramatically, with Oz trailing close.
Trump is trying to give Republicans credit, and his team has held 30 rallies, 50 in-person fundraiser, 60 calls and robocalls, and 1,600 in Super PAC ads for statewide offices in key states. I raised over a million dollars.
“Well, if they win, I think I should get all the credit,” he said in an interview with network NewsNation on Tuesday. There is none.”
Trump is determined to grab attention on Tuesday night, throwing a huge party in his club’s golden ballroom and inviting current and former advisers to raise the flag and see him He was scheduled to interview staff later this week, according to multiple advisers, and had a presidential announcement scheduled for next week.
In anticipation of a Republican wave, Trump wanted to go so far as to declare his candidacy for president before Election Day, according to people familiar with the debate. Persuaded him by claiming he could be blamed for mobilizing Democratic voter turnout.
While advisers managed to push back a formal announcement, Trump became increasingly clear about his intentions, telling supporters he was “very happy” and “soon,” and finally announced at a rally on Monday that the next It promised a “very special announcement.” Tuesday, November 15th.
According to advisers, part of his urgency came from his desire to pressure other Republicans to line up behind him and wipe out the field of potential rivals, especially DeSantis.
Trump is sticking with DeSantis more than other potential rivals in 2024, seeing his huge crowds and growing frustrated with his positive news coverage. He tested a number of nicknames and attacks before arriving at “Ron DeSanctimonious” last week. The adviser said reception was mixed and he didn’t use it again this weekend.
On Monday night, Trump attacked DeSantis while speaking to reporters on a plane and even threatened to release damaging information about him if he fled.
“If he were running, I would tell you the less flattering things about him. also know
“I think if he ran away, he could hurt himself badly,” he said.
