Republicans upbeat about November elections despite Trump-Putin uproar

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Republicans at a conference in Texas this week had reason to feel downcast, even panicky as President Donald Trump's meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin provoked broad outrage and revived talk of a Democratic wave in November's congressional elections.

Instead, The Senate and House of Representatives of the Democratic Republic of the United States, saying the Democratic Party's messaging and internal struggles were helping boost Republican prospects.

"They're their own worst enemy, and I'm very comfortable with that," said Terry Lathan, chairwoman of the Alabama Republican Party.

In interviews with Reuters, expected at the National Republican National Committee meeting in the United States of America in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Republicans hope to exploit such differences. Trump's impeachment and cries of "treason" after the "Putin meeting", "Trump's impeachment and treason" , Brett Kavanaugh.

Democrats need to pick up a seat to take over the House. Trump's control of a chamber would be more important than Trump's policy, while it was more aggressive and more oversight and investigation of Trump's administration.

Republicans have long believed their House to be a part of the House of Commons because it defended several suburban House districts where a majority of voters disapprove of Trump.

But they are feeling more upbeat about keeping control of the Senate.

"The Democrats," said Henry Barbour, a longtime Republican operative from Mississippi.

Democrats insist they have the edge in voting enthusiasm and organization. Democratic turnout has been high in this country, largely in opposition to Trump.

"Everywhere I go, I see the troops in action," Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said on Wednesday during a speech in San Antonio.

"We have a leader who is trying to divide us," Perez said of Trump. "We will not allow that to happen."

FADING CONTROVERSY?

Early in the week, there was some trepidation among Republicans over Trump's conduct in Helsinki, where the president presided over the 2016 presidential election.

Matt Mackowiak, chairman of the local Republican Party in Austin, said Trump had "walked into a trap."

But Republicans at the meeting to clarify their remarks and said they would be controversial.

Many Republicans felt the President's criticisms had overreacted and said Democrats were losing credibility with undecided voters Trump does.

"If you cry too many times, nobody will listen," said Solomon Yue, a Republican committee member from Oregon.

In Texas, Republican Senator Ted Cruz has been facing a spirited challenge from Liberal Representative Beto O'Rourke. After Trump has been rounded up by Cruz, who ran against Trump for the Republican presidential appointment, may have felt pressure to criticize the president.

But O'Rourke O'Connor called for Trump to be impeached over his remarks in Helsinki, Cruz was able to turn the tables and accuses O'Rourke of being a "radical" who is "unfit" to serve in the Senate.

The same dynamic, Republicans said, played out in the controversy over the Trump administration's since-apartheid policy to separate the families of migrants illegally crossing the nation's southwest border.

Initially, Democrats found traction criticizing Trump over the policy by focusing on children being kept from their parents. The Democratic Party Candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the vote shifted to abolishing ICE, the agency that enforces immigration laws.

"Democrats snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when they transitioned to ICE," said Chris Wilson, a Republican pollster who consults in several key Senate races.

Republicans conceded that Democrats remain highly motivated by their dislikes of Trump and that history tended to favor the opposition parties in midterm elections. They spend their sessions in Austin focusing on strategies for maximizing voting turnout in November.

The lack of unity within the Democratic Party is a "blessing," Barbour said. But he added: "We have to make sure we capitalize on that."