Trump attack leaves GOP wondering if he cares about Senate majority
by Al Weaver - 10/18/22 3:06 PM ET
Former President Trump’s Monday assault against Joe O’Dea, the GOP’s Senate nominee in Colorado, is angering Republicans while leaving them wondering if he cares about the party winning back the majority in the upper chamber.
O’Dea, a pro-abortion rights moderate whom Democrats spent $4 million against in the primary, was already in an uphill fight against Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).
Now Republicans worry any chance he has of pulling off an upset are being extinguished by Trump, prompting frustration and exasperation with the ex-president.
“It certainly is not [helpful],” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a Trump ally, told The Hill. “I would hate to see O’Dea lose to Sen. Bennet by a few votes just because Donald Trump urged Republicans not to vote and we came up short of the majority by one senator.”
“If [Sen.] Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.] opposed every Republican nominee who criticized him publicly, we wouldn’t stand a chance,” Cramer continued, referring to the Senate minority leader. “The nation has to be more important than individual personal offenses.”
In a post on his social media site, Trump labeled O’Dea a “RINO,” or “Republican in name only,” and said that “MAGA doesn’t Vote for stupid people with big mouths.”
The barb came in response to O’Dea saying that he would not support the former president if he ran again in 2024 and that he would actively campaign against him.
Adding to the trouble, the remarks came at the worst possible time for O’Dea as ballots started to be distributed in the state on Monday.
One GOP strategist involved in Senate contests likened Trump’s attack on O’Dea to his rhetoric surrounding the Georgia runoffs following his election loss in 2020, which many Republicans believe helped suppress turnout among Republicans.
“If O’Dea is literally the difference between a GOP majority and minority, you think about the profound policy ramifications that come along with that. To think you can be anywhere right of center and be willing to mortgage on a Republican majority just because someone says not nice things about you is pretty revealing,” a second GOP operative involved in Senate races said.
“It’s all about this fealty to him, and you don’t have to be a mathematician to realize how that went in Colorado two years ago,” the strategist added, referring to President Biden’s 14-point win over Trump in the state.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3694601-trump-attack-leaves-gop-wondering-if-he-cares-about-senate-majority/posted here
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,482592.0.html
