A few GOP dissidents ready to let Biden win and look ahead to 2024
by W. James Antle III, Politics Editor |
| July 27, 2020 12:00 AM
President Trump is down in the polls. The Republican National Convention is mostly canceled. And now, some Republicans are contemplating the unthinkable: Would they be better off losing in November and rebuilding for 2024?
“The thought is starting to cross people’s minds,†said a Republican strategist who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “One way or the other, there will be life after Trump.â€
This remains a small minority position among Republicans. Trump’s popularity with rank-and-file party members endures. Even a recent Fox News poll that contained mostly bad news for Trump showed 73% of his supporters were happy with their choices, compared to 62% of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s. But Trump has never been particularly strong with the GOP’s governing and consultant class, dating back to 2016, and his relationship with them has waxed and waned with his political fortunes.
The theory is that if Trump is defeated, Democrats led by an aging and diminished Biden will pursue an unpopular left-wing political agenda and inherit the pandemic, economic downturn, and civil unrest. Republicans would likely recover in the midterm elections in 2022, possibly regaining a chamber or two of Congress. This could put the party in a strong position to turn the page on Trump in 2024.
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