Trump candidates got their butts kicked. On November 15th, when Trump announces for President, there is zero chance Republicans ought to support him. They can win primaries but primaries are exhibitions. You have to win elections to govern.
The polls were wrong-or I was getting served stuff that kept me in a bubble.
Both are possible.
There was no beautiful red wave.
You can blame mail-in balloting. It is certainly possible. But, when you get your butt kicked, and the Republicans did get their butts kicked, you have to focus inward. No doubt, when you see stuff happen across the country that points to voter fraud or other shenanigans, we need to make sure we have elections that are on the level.
But, I don’t think it was election problems that hurt Trump-backed candidates. Trump wasn’t on the ballot, yet he was. He got rejected nationwide. People are ready to move on.
For certain, Trump should NOT campaign for Herschel Walker. He blew two other Georgia Senate races in 2020 and it shouldn’t happen again. Trump will point to Ohio and JD Vance. But, Trump didn’t pull JD across the finish line, the governor Mike DeWine did.
Trump was the bull in the china shop that needed to wake people up. Trump is not the person to lead in the future.
Trump brought a lot of people into the party, specifically the white and hispanic working class. A return to Paul Ryan Republicanism focused exclusively on economics would send them back to the D's. I think DeSantis, Abbott and Younkin have shown a way to combine a realistic economic message with a Ryan-missing cultural message. Competence and culture is the message. Trump won narrowly against a weak candidate in 2020 and lost to a weaker candidate in 2020. His governance was good but he got nothing lasting done because he is a fish out of water in a political environment. I pray he bows out now with my gratitude for his accomplishments. But I fear he won't.
Preface to my comment: Regardless of what one may think of Donald J Trump, his "sell by date" has arrived. Laud him or castigate him, he is the past.
Ultimately the candidate himself/herself is responsible for how they design, organize, staff, fund, and run his/her campaign.
One of the decisions they must make is ENDORSEMENTS. Did a Trump endorsement aid a candidate?
YES in the primaries.
NO in the general election.
DeSantis won by 0.5% in 2018 and won by 19.4% yesterday. Who made that happen? DeSantis and the way he governed Florida and the way he ran his re-election campaign. Bravo and well played.
The Republicans have a deep bench of talent and they would be served well to work it.
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com