Hmmmm?
All that Donald Trump ‘me…me…me’ might NOT be what some GOPer’s want if the ex-President goes in the tanks next year, or worse?
Is the subject of a worse blowout loss that in 2020…..
As Republicans start to assemble a crop of contenders that can retake the Senate and grow their excruciatingly thin majority in the House, they are running into a persistent complication. The current GOP presidential primary, and Trump’s early dominance, has spooked some potential down-ballot candidates, according to a dozen recruiters, operatives and congressional hopefuls who were granted anonymity to speak candidly with POLITICO about the recruitment process.
Many of their prospective recruits are wary of running alongside Trump, who dominates the spotlight, repels crucial independent voters and forces his fellow Republicans to answer for his unpredictable statements. It’s a dynamic that candidates don’t relish, and it has only come into sharper focus since Trump’s CNN town hall, when he spent 70 minutes on primetime television this month unleashing a torrent of incendiary remarks.
Few Republicans publicly worry the former president will seriously damage their bench in either chamber, and they maintain that many of the candidates on the fence will ultimately decide to run. But Trump’s resurgence has notably chilled recruitment across the country. And because only a handful of seats separate both parties in the House and Senate, any one flop could narrow the path to majority. There’s little margin for error.
“Some people have asked me, ‘Should I run next year?’ If you’re in a swing district, I said, ‘No,’” said former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), who lost her suburban district in 2018 during a Trump-fueled Democratic wave. “If he’s going to be the nominee, you are better to wait and run after he washes out. Because you won’t have a prayer of winning.”….