The Hill: Republicans spooked by string of disappointing elections

[mystery-ak]

 Republicans spooked by string of disappointing elections
by Julia Manchester - 12/12/25 6:00 AM ET

Republicans are feeling spooked by recent special elections losses and underperformances in party strongholds, as the White House ramps up President Trump’s presence on the campaign trail ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

On Tuesday, Democrats flipped Miami’s mayoral office for the first time in nearly 30 years and won a conservative-leaning state House district in Georgia that Trump carried by 12 points last year.

Those victories came after Republicans gave up ground to Democrats in a special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District last week and lost by wide margins in Virginia and New Jersey’s gubernatorial races last month.

Republicans note that while the off-year gubernatorial losses were not necessarily a surprise, upsets in GOP strongholds like Miami and the Georgia state House district have them on edge.

“Republicans losing in Republican areas? That’s a different story. I think that’s got people freaking out,” said one former Trump White House staffer.

Another source close to the White House told The Hill, “There’s a lot of digging our heads in the sand and acting as if we don’t have a five-alarm fire going off.

“I’ve been in a lot of conversations where people are wondering where the hell the RNC is and local in-state GOP parties,” the source said, referring to the Republican National Committee (RNC). “I’m worried that way too many people are still celebrating the victory of Donald Trump and forgetting that we still have other races to win.”

The RNC strongly pushed back on this notion, citing its ongoing partnership with the White House.

“The RNC works hand-in-glove with the White House every day to advance the President’s historic agenda that is making life more affordable for American families,” said the committee’s national press secretary, Kiersten Pels. “We remain laser-focused on winning the midterms in 2026 so that we can deliver a full four-year term to President Trump for the American people.”

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5645435-republicans-spooked-election-outcomes/

[Kamaji]

They should be spooked. Now they should get out there and do something constructive about it.

[Timber Rattler]

Well they should be spooked.  People are starting to catch on to Trump's gaslighting.

[DefiantMassRINO]

GOP Congress could start show up and do their jobs instead of sitting back and waiting for Trump to do all the work.

Trump has already advanced to the "pretend it doesn't exist, and it will go away' phase of his inflation crisis management.

Craft some suply-side legislation to increase supply, increase competition, increase capital investment, increase efficiency, increase productivity, and decrease the burden of Government regulation on private businesses.

Nope.  The GOP is there for the free haircuts and free postage.

[Free Vulcan]

Congressional Republicans are spooked by their own shadow most of the time. They never sit back and analyze things, form a strategy, or do anything about it.

The Miami mayoral race was won on around 10% turnout. It was also a local race, Trump was not on the ballot, nor were his policies, no matter how much some here have a hate hard-on for him.

Alot of the GOP's problem is the GOP itself. The national, state, county and precinct leadership are complacent and aren't doing the work.

[Timber Rattler]

Trump has already advanced to the "pretend it doesn't exist, and it will go away' phase of his inflation crisis management.

And "it's all Biden's fault."

[Bigun]

Congressional Republicans are spooked by their own shadow most of the time. They never sit back and analyze things, form a strategy, or do anything about it.

The Miami mayoral race was won on around 10% turnout. It was also a local race, Trump was not on the ballot, nor were his policies, no matter how much some here have a hate hard-on for him.

Alot of the GOP's problem is the GOP itself. The national, state, county and precinct leadership are complacent and aren't doing the work.

 

[bigheadfred]

GOP Congress could start show up and do their jobs instead of sitting back and waiting for Trump to do all the work.

Trump has already advanced to the "pretend it doesn't exist, and it will go away' phase of his inflation crisis management.

Craft some suply-side legislation to increase supply, increase competition, increase capital investment, increase efficiency, increase productivity, and decrease the burden of Government regulation on private businesses.

Nope.  The GOP is there for the free haircuts and free postage.

Number of Bills passed by Congress in a President’s 1st year in office:

H.W. Bush (242 in 1989)
Clinton (209 in 1993)
W. Bush (109 in 2001)
Obama (120 in 2009)
President Trump (96 in 2017)
Autopen Biden (122 in 2021)

This year… 5

Just sayin'

[Free Vulcan]

Number of Bills passed by Congress in a President’s 1st year in office:

This year… 5

Just sayin'

Because we have a one vote lead in the House, and need more seats.

What are most Red state legislators doing about redisctricting? Nothing, or like Indiana, voting it down.

[jmyrlefuller]

Because we have a one vote lead in the House, and need more seats.

What are most Red state legislators doing about redisctricting? Nothing, or like Indiana, voting it down.

They're not supposed to be redistricting mid-cycle.

But back to the original point, what are the Republicans good for? This is what happens when your party basically becomes a cult of personality around one person (Trump). He makes all of the decisions by executive fiat, Congress does nothing. I mean, his first decision was to bring in a half-trillionaire to unilaterally freeze payments. As long as the President is sucking all of the air out of the room and making everything about him, what do the Republicans stand for? They can't realistically just be sycophants.

The problem is the Republican coalition isn't strong enough to maintain one cohesive identity. 90% of the caucus still wanted Kevin McCarthy after a dozen votes even though they knew he didn't have the votes anymore.

Who is the voice of conservatism today? Where is our Rush Limbaugh? Instead, we get Nick Fuentes and wonder why we're failing as a movement.

The one saving grace is that the Democrats are becoming increasingly unhinged.

[Timber Rattler]

They're not supposed to be redistricting mid-cycle.

But back to the original point, what are the Republicans good for? This is what happens when your party basically becomes a cult of personality around one person (Trump). He makes all of the decisions by executive fiat, Congress does nothing. I mean, his first decision was to bring in a half-trillionaire to unilaterally freeze payments. As long as the President is sucking all of the air out of the room and making everything about him, what do the Republicans stand for? They can't realistically just be sycophants.

The problem is the Republican coalition isn't strong enough to maintain one cohesive identity. 90% of the caucus still wanted Kevin McCarthy after a dozen votes even though they knew he didn't have the votes anymore.

Who is the voice of conservatism today? Where is our Rush Limbaugh? Instead, we get Nick Fuentes and wonder why we're failing as a movement.

The one saving grace is that the Democrats are becoming increasingly unhinged.

Yep.  You are right.

 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

They're not supposed to be redistricting mid-cycle.

But back to the original point, what are the Republicans good for? This is what happens when your party basically becomes a cult of personality around one person (Trump). He makes all of the decisions by executive fiat, Congress does nothing. I mean, his first decision was to bring in a half-trillionaire to unilaterally freeze payments. As long as the President is sucking all of the air out of the room and making everything about him, what do the Republicans stand for? They can't realistically just be sycophants.

The problem is the Republican coalition isn't strong enough to maintain one cohesive identity. 90% of the caucus still wanted Kevin McCarthy after a dozen votes even though they knew he didn't have the votes anymore.

Who is the voice of conservatism today? Where is our Rush Limbaugh? Instead, we get Nick Fuentes and wonder why we're failing as a movement.

The one saving grace is that the Democrats are becoming increasingly unhinged.

 

[Hoodat]

They're not spooked.  If they were, they would stop repeating the same mistakes over and over again.  Republicans want to be the minority party.  They don't want to govern.

[Free Vulcan]

They're not supposed to be redistricting mid-cycle.

The Rats have done and are doing it as are judges. There is no legal restriction against it, and they are using it to roast our butts. But lets be high minded and sermonize.

But back to the original point, what are the Republicans good for? This is what happens when your party basically becomes a cult of personality around one person (Trump). He makes all of the decisions by executive fiat, Congress does nothing. I mean, his first decision was to bring in a half-trillionaire to unilaterally freeze payments. As long as the President is sucking all of the air out of the room and making everything about him, what do the Republicans stand for? They can't realistically just be sycophants.

Is it really like that? Or is it the President is the only one who will act? By that logic if they are all MAGA cultists, Congress would be getting something done. For that matter we'd have a 25 seat majority if the GOP were MAGA cultists.

The problem is the Republican coalition isn't strong enough to maintain one cohesive identity. 90% of the caucus still wanted Kevin McCarthy after a dozen votes even though they knew he didn't have the votes anymore.

So which is it? If they are all MAGA cultists then why the lack of unity? Oh yeah, we got a whole lot of back benchers that just want to flip the bird at Trump, because, even though we got things that need to be fixed.

Who is the voice of conservatism today? Where is our Rush Limbaugh? Instead, we get Nick Fuentes and wonder why we're failing as a movement.

Sounds like some Alinsky crap. Fuentes is hardly a big voice in conservatism, besides I thought he was MAGA anyway.

The one saving grace is that the Democrats are becoming increasingly unhinged.

Well yeah because Trump is beating them, while Congress sits on their butts.

[libertybele]

GOP Congress could start show up and do their jobs instead of sitting back and waiting for Trump to do all the work.

Trump has already advanced to the "pretend it doesn't exist, and it will go away' phase of his inflation crisis management.

Craft some suply-side legislation to increase supply, increase competition, increase capital investment, increase efficiency, increase productivity, and decrease the burden of Government regulation on private businesses.

Nope.  The GOP is there for the free haircuts and free postage.

....and a healthy pension check once they leave.