Midterm Recap
The midterm elections are over and other than barely holding the House the elections were a disaster for the Republicans.
Trump-backed candidates, selected only for their stop-the-steal loyalty, went down in scorching flames.
Trump-Backed Losers
- US Senate Pennsylvania: Mehmet Oz
- US Senate Arizona: Blake Masters
- US Senate Nevada: Adam Laxalt
- US Senate New Hampshire: Don Bolduc
- Arizona Governor: Kari Lake
- Michigan Attorney General: Matthew DePerno
- Michigan Secretary of State: Kristina Karamo
- Pennsylvania Governor: Doug Mastriano
- Pennsylvania Attorney General: Matthew DePerno
- Alaska Special Election: Sarah Palin
Comments
- WSJ on Don Bolduc: “Don Bolduc was a very nice guy, but he lost tonight when he disavowed, after his big primary win, his longstanding stance on Election Fraud,” Mr. Trump said.
- Intelligencer on Mehmet OZ: Mehmet Oz built the celebrity that he traded on in entering Pennsylvania politics from a TV career originally sponsored by Oprah Winfrey, There’s no question Oz’s surprise endorsement by Trump lifted him to the U.S. Senate nomination over his wealthy rival David McCormick, who unlike Oz was actually from Pennsylvania. When Trump endorsed Oz, he said, “Women, in particular, are drawn to Dr. Oz for his advice and counsel. I have seen this many times over the years. They know him, believe in him, and trust him.” According to the exit polls, Fetterman trounced Oz among women by a 57-to-41 margin.
- Intelligencer on Adam Laxalt: Laxalt has been a staunch MAGA supporter who actually ran the former president’s narrowly unsuccessful 2020 campaign in the state.
- Intelligencer on Blake Masters: Masters is a strange dude who entered politics as a protégé and employee of rogue Silicon Valley mogul and proto-authoritarian Peter Thiel. Masters received a crucially timed Trump endorsement during the primary season that elevated him over a crowded field of rivals who were battling for the MAGA vote.
- Intelligencer on Hershel Walker (Runoff on Dec 6): Trump clearly talked him into leaving his Texas home to return to Georgia and run for the Senate; the ex-president announced Walker’s candidacy before the candidate did.
- Intelligencer on Sarah Palin: Trump misstep was his backing of Sarah Palin in a special election in Alaska.
- The Guardian on Doug Mastriano: In Pennsylvania Doug Mastriano, a Christian nationalist state senator who paid for buses to take people to what became the January 6 insurrection and tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election, was swept away in the governor’s race.
- The Guardian on Matthew DePerno: Matthew DePerno, a fellow election conspiracy theorist who had branded Democrats “radical, cultural Marxists” lost his bid to be Michigan’s attorney general, and his ideological counterpart Kristina Karamo failed to become secretary of state.
NBC: “In the 13 races in six battleground states where an election denier was on the ballot for governor, secretary of state or attorney general, 12 lost, according to the latest NBC News projections. The only other contest — Arizona’s attorney general race between Democrat Kris Mayes and Republican Abraham Hamadeh — remains too close to call, though Mayes leads.”
Trump’s Big Announcement
Yesterday, Trump announce he would run for President in 2024.
Ahead of the announcement the WSK noted Trump said “perhaps … the most important speech given in the history of the United States of America.”
No, it wasn’t.
Abandon Ship
Note that media mogul Rupert Murdoch tells Trump he will not back fresh White House bid
Rupert Murdoch has reportedly warned Donald Trump his media empire will not back any attempt to return to the White House, as former supporters turn to the youthful Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
Trump was “Part of the Problem” on Jan 6.
Vanity Fair reports Mike Pence Finally Says Trump was “Part of the Problem” on Jan 6.
After almost two years of near-silence, former Vice President Mike Pence is talking about the last days of Donald Trump’s presidency; namely that Trump’s words on January 6 were “reckless,” and “endangered” Pence and his family.
“It angered me,” Pence said of Trump’s actions. “I turned to my daughter, who was standing nearby, and I said, ‘It doesn’t take courage to break the law. It takes courage to uphold the law.’”
Cook Politico on the Midterms
“The #AZGOV outcome is the exclamation point on how badly MAGA enthusiasts bombed last week – costing Rs eminently winnable races up and down the ballot. It’s a huge reason Rs are on track to net just 1-2% of all House seats despite a likely 6-7% pro-GOP vote swing.”
DeSantis on Trump
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Trump is mocking the one bright star of the midterm elections, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis won reelection by defeating Charlie Crist by nearly 20%. The New York Post, the day after the election, ran a cover featuring DeSantis with the headline: “DeFuture.”
Nonetheless, Trump is name-calling again, calling DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
How to Deal With Trump
Ron DeSantis responds to Trump criticism: “You take incoming fire, that’s just the nature of it…all that is just noise….at the end of the day, I would just tell people to check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night.“
Indeed, the scorecard speaks for itself.
Biggest Loser of the Night Donald Trump, Biggest Winner Ron DeSantis
On election eve, I posted Biggest Loser of the Night Donald Trump, Biggest Winner Ron DeSantis
The Wall Street Journal reached the same conclusion hours later in Trump Is the Republican Party’s Biggest Loser
The WSJ subtitle reads “He has now flopped in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.”
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead we do not know if Trump will win the nomination or even if he will stay in to the end.
If he does not win the nomination it’s possible he sabotages the ship just as he did in the midterms.
And if he does win the nomination, it’s not at all clear he would lose. Two years is a long time in politics.
However, the midterms provide a clear message.
Trump has a mountain of baggage and Republicans would be better served if he stood down.
Stop the steal is a losing message.
This post originated at MishTalk.Com
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