Republican operatives fear a midterm “bloodbath” as some blame President Donald Trump’s shenanigans, including doxxing a GOP senator seeking reelection.
CNN White House correspondent Kristen Holmes reported Tuesday on “Erin Burnett OutFront” that she has spoken with a number of Republican operatives, many of them involved in key races, conducting polling or working with donor PACs, and that the mood has turned grim.
“You’ve got people freaking out saying they worried it could be a bloodbath,” Holmes said. “And you have other people resigned to the fact that they are going to lose the House and potentially even the Senate.”
Holmes said the change in tone has been dramatic. “I cannot tell you, Erin, the shift I have seen just over the last month,” she said.
She pointed to one Republican operative involved in Texas who told her a month ago “there was absolutely no way that a Democrat could win in Texas.”
“Today, they told me that it is entirely possible that Ken Paxton loses this race,” Holmes said.
Much of the anxiety centers on Trump himself. “There seems to be an overall question about what exactly to do about President Trump,” Holmes said. “These Republicans do not feel like he’s on message.”
As an example, operatives pointed to Trump posting the personal cell phone number of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Truth Social. Holmes noted Cotton is an ally who has defended Trump “in multiple different cases and circumstances.”
“How is that helping the Republican Party?” Holmes said. “That is literally what one Republican operative said to me.”
Still, Holmes said operatives believe Trump drives turnout, which is why he’s being sent to campaign in red states where Republican enthusiasm has sagged in their polling. “The question is, can he drive turnout and not also drive turnout for Democrats?” she said.
Holmes added that some Trump allies cling to “a tiny sliver of hope” that the polls are wrong, arguing that “MAGA is often mispolled” and that they could pull off races that look far worse on paper.
“But again, they are still bracing themselves for the worst,” Holmes said.
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