Republicans are worried about the battle between the former President Trump
Donald TrumpUN’s report says Erik Prince violated arms embargo against Libya: Lee reports after Romney’s dismissal vote: There is enough room in the Republican Party for Nunes’ lawsuit against CNN at all two released MORE and the Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell About Money: What’s Next for Neera Tanden’s Nomination The Elephant in the Hall: Trump’s Persistent Power 17 State Attorneys General Call for K Cancellation of Student Loan Debt MONTH (R-Ky.) He could torpedo his efforts to regain House and Senate majorities in 2022.
GOP agents believe they are in a position to reverse both chambers if they can oppose President Biden
Joe BidenREAD: House Democrats ’big COVID-19 relief bill introduces the .9T relief package. Launches Nunes lawsuit against CNN MOREthe agenda and avoid a destructive civil war.
Democrats cling to the smallest majority in the House in modern times and a 50-50 division in the Senate. Historically, the party for the incoming administration loses seats in its first cycle in the medium term.
But Republicans fear they may miss these opportunities amid the nasty feud that erupted between Trump and McConnell over the party’s future.
The split could depress fundraising, dampen turnout, alienate voters and propel bad candidates in general elections through divided primary camps, Republicans say.
Veteran Republican Party agent Brian Walsh pointed to the Republican Party’s recent failures in Georgia as proof of the kind of calamity expected if Republicans fight for Election Day.
Trump’s claims about systemic election fraud tore the party apart before the Georgia Senate runoff, eroding the participation of both Trump supporters in the northern part of the state and right-wing voters on the outskirts.
Republicans lost close races for the two seats in the traditionally red state, which cost them a majority in the Senate.
“The rhetoric and false accusations definitely affected participation in Georgia,” Walsh said. “When Republicans talk about personal grievances, there are still efforts to get the majority back. The outlook, at least to start this cycle, is not terribly favorable to Republicans, so every seat will matter here. “
Privately, many Republicans believe they are more likely to reclaim the House than the Senate.
Republicans must get less than 10 seats to regain a majority in the House after investing 15 seats in the last round.
In the Senate, the map is complicated for Republicans.
There are pickup opportunities in purple states like Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and New Hampshire, but Trump lost all those states in 2020.
Republicans also defend Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, two tipping states that Trump lost in 2020 but won in 2016. There is an open GOP seat in North Carolina, which Trump barely won.
McConnell and leader of the House Republican Party Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy: 17 state attorneys general call for K cancellation of student loan debt Trump-McConnell split splits GOP donors Trump rejected meeting at Sea-to-Lake with Nikki Haley MORE (California) have taken different paths with Trump that could influence the development of some of these races.
McCarthy, with a group full of Trump supporters, continues to keep Trump as the Republican Party leader. McConnell urges his party to move on from Trump.
There are dozens of unanswered questions surrounding Trump’s involvement in 2022, including whether he will raise funds for Senate Republicans and how aggressively he will support the main challengers.
Trump’s allies say the dispute between Trump and McConnell may not explode into the massive civil war everyone anticipates if McConnell backs down. Trump is known to move quickly from goal to goal and likes to support the winners.
But if the battle continues to escalate, they say McConnell has met with an opponent of Trump who has the full support of a Republican majority and a fundraising operation to match.
“If you’re interested in Republicans having a successful cycle in the Senate, it’s best that Mitch and everyone around him take a step back and take a deep breath and hope that some of these issues are naturally dissipated by Trump. said a former adviser to the Trump campaigns.
“Continually putting an eye on Trump is not conducive to the Republican Party’s success in the Senate and it is not a fair fight,” the adviser said. “Normally, the fight is set against the anti-establishment rates, but this time it’s totally against Mitch and the establishment because 80% of our voters don’t agree with him and he no longer faces someone who has a big advantage financial “.
McConnell’s main goal in rebuking Trump seems to be to undo the party of marginal candidates who have lost winning races in the past and to attract media attention non-stop if they get to Washington.
Republicans remember the Tea Party primary struggles too clearly and blame the bad insurgent candidates for losing at least five win-win races in the Senate between 2010 and 2012.
By denouncing the worst elements of Trump’s base and calling on members of the House like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), McConnell hopes to rally Republicans behind major Conservatives who can win primaries and general elections.
“Mitch believes we can get the Senate back if we recruit good candidates in some of those Democratic seats and support them with money and experience,” said Charlie Black, a veteran Republican Party agent. “He has a good track record of doing so. Trump is, of course, a factor if he enters some of these races and supports right-wing candidates. But these are tipping states and should not be put in Trump’s hands. Put them in the hands of good candidates and give them the support of the national party.
Tensions between Trump and McConnell have hampered the lives of Senator Rick Scott (Fla.), Who heads the Republican National Senate Committee (NRSC) this cycle.
McConnell is deeply involved in the NRSC, but Scott is close to Trump.
The Florida senator is committed to unity among Republicans as the cycle heats up.
He and other Republicans hope they can move from intra-party battles to focus on the democratic agenda.
“We have a long way to go before election day,” a Republican Senate agent said. “Democrats in Congress are helping to curb school reopening and are pushing for radical policies like open borders, higher taxes and the Green New Deal. Republicans are united against this agenda and will concentrate on defeating it at the polls in 2022.” .