U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) departs the House floor, following the vote of the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed the bill seeking to release files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (REUTERS)
Former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) is offering advice to his Republican friends trying to hold their seats in the upcoming midterms: Get away from the Republican Party.
“If I were a Republican candidate running in this cycle and I was in anything close to a competitive district, I would be making sure that I have a brand that is separate and distinct from the party,” Dent said during a Friday panel discussion on MS NOW. “If my brand, in a year like this, is generic Republican, that might be fine in north Alabama, but it isn't going to work in Allentown, Pennsylvania, or suburban New Jersey or many other places where Republicans hold seats. And if they're not able to … find a brand separate and distinct from the party, they are going to be in big, big trouble.”
Dent warned that Republicans are facing “real political volatility,” and that “there have only been two elections [this century] where we did not see a change in power from the House or the Senate or the presidency.”
Worse, President Donald Trump is the face of the party, and his image will be hard for Republicans from swing or GOP-leaning districts to escape.
“Let's look at November and two races in particular, New Jersey and Virginia, where Trump lost women in both of those states by about eight points in 2024. This time, the Republican candidates lost women in those states by over 20 points. That should tell you something. And I think what Republicans are looking at right now, going into the midterms, is with Trump's bad approval ratings it’s difficult,” said Dent.
“I mean, they're kind of hoping to turn out these Trump-only voters, but that's very hard to do in a midterm election,” Dent added, and pointed to the party’s plummeting approval with independents.
“Independent voters are actually very concerned about the Affordable Care Act’s premium subsidies. That issue plays very hard with them ... And so, with the president's bad numbers being driven by his conduct in office, his focus on the ballroom, on the Kennedy center, taking over Greenland and all these things that are really not central to Americans’ lives, he’s harming these Republican candidates. I mean, it seems like Donald Trump is doing everything he can to harm Republicans who are going to be on the ballot in 2024.”
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