Rick Wilson
Politicos and pundits say the Republican Party has hopelessly welded its wagon to President Donald Trump to the point that there’s no going back over the summer.
I mean, so unless you believe that Republicans are doing so well right now that they are going to hold the House despite historical trends, despite high gas inflation, bad poll numbers for the president, and just a natural desire to have a check on a president — a relatively unpopular president — then fine, then Republicans can keep the House. Other than that, I just think it's going to be really difficult. And then add on to that a war,” reported MS NOW anchor Jake Sherman.
Veteran Republican strategist Rick Wilson said Republicans are also in a bad spot because “Trump's not giving them anything to run on.”
“They are not going to go home and campaign on the ballroom and the reflecting pool and the arch. They're really in a tough spot right now,” Wilson told MS NOW anchor Katy Tur.
Additionally, Wilson warned that Republicans may have compromised their chances in their mid-decade gerrymandering effort by “spreading the peanut butter too thin” and putting too many swingy voters into red districts. This, said Wilson, puts new so-called “Republican-friendly” districts in jeopardy in Texas — particularly those with a high count of Latino voters, who are currently swinging hard away from the GOP.
Former U.S. Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) said there is also the matter of the hot season falling over the nation like a blanket.
Summer months, they say, is the time when voters distract themselves with things beyond politics, and whatever opinions they entered the season with are usually the ones with which they exit.
“There's still a lot of time to go. But here's the interesting thing about elections, particularly midterm elections: They are based around how mobilized and exuberant your base is,” said Rose. “Democrats have never seen levels of this base enthusiasm. And we also traditionally find that sentiments get burned in by the summertime. You can't rebound.”
“Not when people go on vacation,” said Tur. “They tune out. They give themselves a mental break.”
“God bless them,” said Rose, with a smile. “They deserve it.”