The Red... What?
Republicans struggle to find midterm ground
Republicans were set to take the midterms by storm, according to most political polling forecasts, where a red wave was to crash onto the river banks of DC. But to little avail, only an itsy bitsy splash appeared to hit the Swamp, and many are trying to figure out what happened, and who to hold accountable.
Given the fact President Biden’s approval ratings have been the lowest ever for a first-term president, many Americans are still concerned about America being on the wrong track, the current economy looming into a recession, and the growth of both crime and inflation; this was a perfect recipe for Republicans to run on throughout the campaign season.
Republicans were very confident and enthusiastic heading into the final weeks before the big Tuesday night, envisioning a majority takeover in both chambers, or at least a substantial majority in the House. Even both Henry Olsen, an opinion columnist for the Washington Post, and Saagar Enjeti of Breaking Points made red wave predictions too.
All the hype turned out to be a sugar high that eventually wore out as the night progressed, with returns from various states dragging on ever so slowly into the twilight, until dawn appeared.
This year the midterm election saga was heavily favored to have the GOP win, and Kevin McCarthy poised to become House Speaker with a hefty majority lead; only to find out he may be dealing with a handful of “majority makers” once he lifts the gavel starting in January.
While Republicans can feel a sense of ease knowing there was a stronghold in Florida re-electing DeSantis by an overwhelming 20% margin, Zeldin’s campaign boosted enough energy to flip a few House seats in New York into red territory, and some safe Senate elections by Vance, Johnson, and Budd, the GOP must figure out how to rebuild itself again.
Would this mean the party resurrects the 2013 “Growth & Opportunity Project” autopsy report and revise it? Not necessarily. Republican voters who feel betrayed by the party, just want accountability from their leadership in an attempt to combat their recent underperformance, such as calling for better candidate quality, and those serving in GOP leadership posts (in a political or business capacity) to step down.
Some suggest Trump’s hand-picked candidate endorsements — and looming 2024 presidential run — stood in the way therefore hurting the party’s chances to win key races in the general election. Others could point out to voters sitting at home due to a lack of enthusiasm, or conservative voters moving away from their former blue home states to a more red state after the Covid era may have played a role in the overall turnout of the election.
As Spencer Brown best described in his Townhall column, there seems to be more questions than answers at this moment in time:
“So where will the real answers come from, and who will face accountability? Trump is clearly not going to acknowledge any issues that may have arisen from his picks or take any blame for the outcome. Will the RNC produce a post-mortem report like it did post-2012 that pointed to areas the party felt it missed the mark? Will Tom Emmer explain what happened and why he didn't deliver a strong GOP majority in a cycle that should have been for Republican seat-flipping, like taking candy from a baby? Will Rick Scott explain why the Senate map did not go the way polls were showing in the final weeks? Why didn't Republican candidates meet the 52-seat majority he'd predicted a week before Election Day? Will Kevin McCarthy explain why his Gingrich-esque "Commitment to America" didn't win over voters as he claimed it would? Why his work as House GOP Leader and as a campaigner didn't set his party up to win a significant majority? His no-show status for hours at his election night party suggests he's not ready to answer for what happened.”
While this is not the picture Republicans hoped for heading into the new term, Americans made their reasoning to the electorate very clear: Don’t rely on the polls, be accountable to adopt change, and figure out how to legislate and govern in a supposedly divided government with a divided Congress.