Republicans are pointing the finger after a disappointing half-time that has seen Democrats crouch and GOP aides and strategists blame former President Trump for their failure to convincingly win a House and Senate majority.
The battle for both chambers is still too close to call on Wednesday night, with Republicans favored to win what increasingly looks like a narrow majority in the House. Democrats have a decent chance of retaining their Senate majority, which can be decided in the Dec. 6 round in Georgia.
GOP blunders were widespread on Wednesday night, with some pointing to inexperienced candidates making rookie mistakes, and others privately calling for an audit of how the National Republican Senators Committee raised and spent money under chairman Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.).
Some strategists say Trump's footprint in the Senate and House of Representatives is more painful than helpful and raises serious questions about his eligibility as a presidential candidate in 2024.
"How can you look at these results tonight and conclude Trump has a chance of winning the national election in 2024?" tweeted Scott Jennings, the Republican strategist who has advised Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)'s past campaigns.
“Despite the fact that 70 percent of the country thinks we're on the wrong track, two thirds think we're in a recession, people are pessimistic about the future, and the vast majority of people believe Biden's policies are detrimental, unhelpful, they still choose to stay. with it rather than the alternative, which I'm afraid they associate with Trump," he said.
McConnell remained largely silent on Wednesday as election officials in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada continued to count ballots.
Asked how he felt about the results, he told an ABC News reporter: "I'm not dealing with feelings. The question is, they have to count the votes and then we will find out where we are."
GOP blunders were widespread on Wednesday night, with some pointing to inexperienced candidates making rookie mistakes, and others privately calling for an audit of how the National Republican Senators Committee raised and spent money under chairman Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.).
Some strategists say Trump's footprint in the Senate and House of Representatives is more painful than helpful and raises serious questions about his eligibility as a presidential candidate in 2024.
"How can you look at these results tonight and conclude Trump has a chance of winning the national election in 2024?" tweeted Scott Jennings, the Republican strategist who has advised Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)'s past campaigns.
“Despite the fact that 70 percent of the country thinks we're on the wrong track, two thirds think we're in a recession, people are pessimistic about the future, and the vast majority of people believe Biden's policies are detrimental, unhelpful, they still choose to stay. with it rather than the alternative, which I'm afraid they associate with Trump," he said.
McConnell remained largely silent on Wednesday as election officials in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada continued to count ballots.
Asked how he felt about the results, he told an ABC News reporter: "I'm not dealing with feelings. The question is, they have to count the votes and then we will find out where we are."
“Republicans should have run away with this election. With inflation at its highest in 40 years, with crime spiraling out of control in many cities, with insecure borders and with Joe Biden's job approval in his 40s, this election should be a shortcut for the Republican Party," said Whit Ayres, an agency. GOP survey.
He blamed the Supreme Court's decision to annul Roe v. Wade, by saying that is a major problem for younger voters.
“Another factor is the proliferation of weak Republican Senate candidates that Donald Trump dragged through the Republican primaries. The Senate Republican candidate continues to struggle as is often the case with inexperienced candidates running high-pressure races,” he added.
There is still a chance that Republicans can win in Nevada, Arizona and Georgia and hold a 52-seat majority next year. But the odds don't look great, and pale in comparison to expectations for a red wave.
Scott told an audience last month in Greensboro, N.C., where he was campaigning for the Senate candidate Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), that he thinks it's possible for Republicans to hold between 52 and 55 seats next year.
In the House, Democratic candidates have exceeded expectations by winning in swing districts such as Virginia's 7th Congressional District, where Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) won re-election, and in Michigan's 7th District, where Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) wins.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) Last year confidently predicted 60 seats in the House of Representatives. Recently House GOP sources offered a more cautious prediction of a 15-to-30 rise.
“Donal Trump and Samuel Alito. They killed us. Trump chose terrible people and Alito pissed off half America," the aide said.
Another Republican strategist said that Senate candidates in several states, namely Pennsylvania and Arizona, were hampered by gubernatorial candidates over tickets touting Trump's claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
In Pennsylvania, Doug Mastriano, enthusiastically accepting Trump's unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, lost the Pennsylvania gubernatorial election by more than 700,000 votes and may have weighed on Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz.
Retired Army General Don Bolduc won the New Hampshire Senate Republican primaries by touting Trump's claim that the 2020 election was stolen and then tried to reverse his position in the general election claiming he had changed his mind “after much research on this. ”
Bolduc is projected to lose to Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) after trailing the incumbent by 53,000 votes with more than 95 percent of the votes counted.
Trump supported Bolduc in late October but also denounced him for denying his narrative of the 2020 election being stolen. Trump on Tuesday said Bolduc lost because he backed away from his claims of widespread election fraud.
"Don Bolduc is a very nice man, but he lost tonight when he reneged, after his major major victory, his longstanding stance on Election Fraud in 2020 Presidential Primary," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. "If he stays strong and right, he will win, easily." This article was written by EDUKASI CAMPUS.