WhatsappJake Tapper often gets a bad rap for one-sided reporting on CNN. But actually, he is probably the best reporter on all of CNN. He occasionally hits it on the nose as he does here with his question about the seeming “win” that the Democrats have been declaring in the 2022 midterms. The fact is that the Republicans did win back Congress in the 2022 midterms. But indeed, it was an underwhelming victory that surprised many and was a disappointment to the Republicans.
What happened in 2022? It is still unclear. But one thing is clear. What happened all across America did not happen in Florida. Florida swept way over to the right. Not only Ron DeSantis won in a massive 60-40 majority. Marco Rubio surprised many in coasting to reelection, as did many other Republicans at the bottom of the ballot. On the other hand, most other locations across the USA saw razor-thin majorities for Republican winners and many Democrats surprised and beat their Republican opponents.
It is tempting to explain every thing via one-size-fits-all explanations. But it is more logical to view what happened in Maricopa County, Arizona with a different angle than what occurred in Pennsylvania. Even if there was some cheating in both States, Maricopa clearly has a major problem figuring out how to count votes in less than a month. Pennsylvania is a different story. So cheating is certainly not the only explanation. It is probably not even the main issue.
The main issues are probably Donald Trump, redistricting, and lack of a cohesive message among Republican candidates. It indeed should have been a romp all over the US based on inflation numbers and Biden’s health concerns. But it is important to note that this was the first national election since Jan. 6th. Many of the soft Republicans moved left on that day. Whether or not Donald Trump was the cause of the riot, the optics were horrible and the Democrats will obviously talk about Jan. 6th every time Donald Trump’s name comes up for reelection.
Kari Lake may have been a solid candidate. But she was the Trump candidate for Arizona – a State that reveres John McCain much more than Donald Trump. It was more important to put up a candidate who could play the game of supporting Donald Trump-like policies, but not invoke Donald Trump’s name in every paragraph. Glenn Youngkin’s successful campaign in Virginia should have been the model for every Republican.
But it was not just the Trump factor or cheating that made the difference. There were other issues relating to redistricting that also made a big impact on some Congressional races. The devil is in the details. The Republicans may now have a slight majority in Congress, but they indeed did lose the battle to create a riveting narrative of future growth to rally around in order to counter the Democrat party in future elections.
The fresh faces within the Republican Party that would have the best chance in 2024 are probably Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. If they join forces, that would make a potent 1-2 punch. They could indeed beat Donald Trump in the primary and coast to the Presidency by winning everything except the east and left coast.
