Speaking to Politico's Thursday "Playbook," one Republican operative explained the mood is souring in the party.
“The mood is very bad right now,” a GOP operative told Politico. They are one of the many Republicans working on multiple races this cycle. “The polling is dropping like a rock, the map is expanding, and the knives are out among consultants."
They said there is a possibility they could save themselves from the bloodbath, but it would mean a significant shift.
"There is a world where we win everything if folks can turn it around and there is a world where this midterm is a historical blow out. People are very on edge," the operative said.
Democratic pollster John Anzalone looked back on the 1994 midterm and compared it to today's midterms. He noted that Dems have a knack for throwing things away.
“You were getting accidental congressmen [in 1994]. I mean that's really what was happening,” said Anzalone, who the report said, polls alongside President Donald Trump's pollster Tony Fabrizio. “Democrats always feel great in August, and then the spending is just so lopsided against us that we start s—— ourselves in September.”
That doesn't appear to be happening this year, though, he said.
“We have never seen diagnostics like this,” Anzalone said.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told Politico, "For the first time in 15 years, we could be in a position to lose a majority of the governorships."
He recalled serving as the chair of the Republican Governors Association when the GOP held 31 out of 50 governorships. Today that number is 26.
“I think there’s a scenario where Republicans wake up in the week or two after Election Day and say, ‘We’re just tired of losing,’” Christie said.
As for post-November and in 2028 talk, Christie said, “I think JD Vance has decided to make himself a disciple of Donald Trump, and I think that's the image that he's going to have to rise or fall with."
He doesn't appear to anticipate much of a GOP being left after Trump is finished with it.
“I really want to go out after the midterms are over, and depending upon what the results turn out to be, engage in a conversation with American voters about where we go from here,” Christie said. “And for my own party: are we tired of losing yet?”
He made the comment from New Hampshire, an early primary state for GOP candidates.
