Republican lawmakers are conceding they face a wipeout in the midterms, and with two weeks until voters go to the polls, the finger-pointing has already begun, according to a Politico report.
Politico spoke to more than a dozen top GOP operatives and lawmakers, some of whom were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. Everyone is bracing for President Donald Trump’s ire if the party loses big in November, the outlet reported. House Republicans are planning to blame the Senate side. Trump political aides “have started calling campaigns” they feel aren’t performing well enough. National GOP operatives are “privately furious” at candidates who didn’t prepare for a tough year despite early warnings. And some candidates are pointing back at their own party committees.
“If it happens, there will be plenty of blame to go around,” said Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), who is in a “tighter-than-comfortable” race of his own.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), who is widely expected to be the next National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, told reporters Thursday that “if the Democrats do win the House and the Senate, it won’t be because of their left-wing lunatic candidates, it’ll be because people are p—ed off about gas prices, and I get that.”
House Republicans are annoyed with their Senate counterparts for fumbling a once-safe map and for dragging down the top of the ticket with bad candidates in some key states, Politico reported. Senators, meanwhile, privately put the onus on Trump for forcing out better Republican incumbents and backing flawed candidates, including Ken Paxton in Texas, according to three GOP senators and a national GOP operative.
“That Republicans have already spent significant time gaming out the aftermath and how to insulate themselves from the fallout of what they fear will be significant GOP losses illustrates how precarious the current landscape is for the party,” Politico reported, adding, “A slew of troubling internal GOP polling in recent weeks set off a new level of panic across House GOP leadership, political operations and individual campaigns. It didn’t just reveal a harsh environment for the party in power on par with typical midterms, but potentially catastrophic scenarios in formerly safe red seats across the country.
Not everyone is blaming Trump. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who is close with the president and faces a competitive race of her own, accused the National Republican Congressional Committee of dropping the ball this week.
“I am also getting calls from members wondering what is going on at the @NRCC,” Luna posted on social media. “Sounds to me like some in leadership need to focus on winning races instead of gaming their next steak donor dinner.” The post has since been deleted.
“We’re running for our lives,” another House Republican in a tough race told Politico. “Those are two totally different approaches. And we have two weeks.”
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