Biggest Lessons From The Midterms
(AmericanProsperity.com) – Going into the midterms, many Americans expected Republicans to win the House by a sizable margin and possibly regain control of the Senate. While the GOP expected a red wave, they instead only had a ripple. Control of both chambers of Congress remains to be seen as votes are still being counted in several states. However, there are still some takeaways from the 2022 midterms.
Quality Matters
Former President Trump endorsed hundreds of candidates across all forms of government. Unfortunately for him, many of his picks didn’t have what it took to win their races. The result looked bad for him and hurt his image among Republicans who wanted the former president to be the face of the party. Perhaps the biggest loss for the GOP was in Pennsylvania, where Trump-endorsed Mehmet Oz failed to beat Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman.
Republicans also lost their chance to win the state’s gubernatorial race as Doug Mastriano lost to Democrat Josh Shapiro. Many of the candidates Trump backed pushed the former president’s claims of fraud during the 2020 elections. Don Bolduc, who lost New Hampshire’s Senate race to the incumbent Maggie Hassan (D-NH), was one example. It just goes to show the GOP needs to focus more on quality candidates if it wants to overcome opponents in tough races.
Democrats Did Well
After expecting the worst, the Democratic party, including President Biden, could take a breath of relief after realizing the red wave wasn’t going to be washing them out of Congress. The high point of the night for the GOP was in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Marco Rubio each won their reelection bid by a landslide. Both races were easy to call early on in their counts. Rubio led his opponent, Val Demings, by nearly 17%, while DeSantis breezed through the election, which many people expected. However, his margin of victory was a bit shocking as he beat Democratic Charlie Crist by almost 20%.
Democrats are now in position to possibly keep their majority in both chambers of Congress, though it’s unlikely they will win the House. The Senate race will have to wait until December 6, when Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Trump endorsee Herschel Walker battle it out in a runoff election that will determine who controls the upper chamber.
Florida Is Red
The Sunshine State has long been a battleground between Republicans and Democrats, effectively making it purple. Trump only won the state by 3% in 2020, and DeSantis barely won the governorship. Since then Governor DeSantis has flipped the switch in Florida, creating a powerful Republican stronghold.
The midterms didn’t turn out quite the way the GOP was hoping, but hopefully the party will learn from its mistakes and come back stronger for the next election cycle. While Trump is likely to make a 2024 presidential bid, he may not be who Republicans want. DeSantis seems to have taken over, especially after Trump’s midterm failures and the governor’s major win. The GOP might be looking for a new face of the party, and that may just be the Florida governor.
~Here’s to Your Prosperity!
Copyright 2022, AmericanProsperity.com
