Karl Rove: GOP will 'lose and lose and lose' if Donald Trump and his 'freakish candidates' stay in charge

Republican strategist Karl Rove had a dire warning for his party if it decides to stick with former President Donald Trump as its leader.

In an editorial for the Wall Street Journal, Rove blamed the former president for coughing up multiple winnable races for Republicans this fall by picking wholly unsuitable candidates that repelled voters.

"In reality, Democrats’ relative victory in the midterms came courtesy of Donald Trump, whose high-profile endorsements helped nominate freakish candidates, leading GOP-leaning voters to split their tickets," he writes. "This was clear in Senate races, where candidates Mr. Trump carried to primary victories with his 'full and complete endorsement' ran behind more-traditional Republicans in the fall."

Examples of this phenomenon, noted Rove, could be found in Arizona, where election conspiracist Kari Lake ran well behind the establishment Republican state treasurer candidate, and in New Hampshire, where Don Bolduc was defeated even as incumbent Gov. Chris Sununu won by a comfortable margin.

The conclusion from this, writes Rove, is to look beyond Trump to be the party's 2024 nominee.

"For Republicans, the return of ticket splitting shows that many of the voters they need see Mr. Trump’s endorsement as a warning, not an inducement," he writes. "A Republican Party led by Donald Trump will lose and lose and lose."