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Elections
Republican governors say the president and the party need to find a way to appeal beyond a narrow conservative base to avoid losing in 2020.
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Republican Governors warn President Donald Trump that he and the GOP need to get noticed correction of course after the end of their mission to avoid losing again in 2020.
While the President hailed the election as " a huge success "and a" great victory ", Republican governors, who will play a pivotal role in overseeing the state of the GOP by 2020, take stock of the party's poor performance in the November elections, and develop plans for solving major problems.
The story continues (19659010) The discussions stretched over several days this week under the Republican fold. The annual Winter Association of Leaders Association is the first major political assembly of the party since mid-term. During interviews, more than a dozen of the largest governors and GOP officials pleaded with the party to oppose his collapsed support among women and high-income suburban voters, urged the president to reprimand his rhetoric, and urging to rethink the party's generalized ideas. use of "slash-and-burn" television commercials that fell flat in 2018.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican who was re-elected to Liberal Maryland, was among those wandering in the corridors of the complex. Fairmont Princess. Midway through, the Republican party started having problems even before Trump arrived at the scene two years ago. Trump exacerbated some of these problems and focused on "gaps," he said. "But the party must look closely. If you want to be a majority party, you have to appeal to a majority of people. "
" I hope it will be better, but I fear it gets worse, "he said. And it's really a debate within the party to say," What are you talking about? What are we going to focus on? "
It was not only the moderate Hogan who expressed his discomfort. During the week, eight Republican governors from across the country held a series of in-camera sessions with senior party officials to become the executive director of the RGA for the upcoming campaign. Trump is at the top of the list and they have enamelled them of questions on a hot topic: how to tackle the frantic support of the party emanating from highly educated and suburban voters.
"Certainly, we are talking to candidates. one of the things we're talking about, "said Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, RGA's new president.
On Wednesday, Paul Bennecke, veteran GOP strategist and outgoing executive director of the governing body, presented a keynote presentation to key donors in which he presented a series of steps to be taken by the party to prepare for 2020 He claimed that Republicans could not give up the fight to register voters and had warned that Democratic groups were spending a lot to boost their incomes. Numbers.
Bennecke, Nick Ayers' ally, a senior White House official, said the party had to catch up in the hunt for more and more votes. He predicted that the liberal intensity that defined the 2018 election would not retreat anytime soon, warning that Republicans should find a way to match their rivals – which would require them to appeal to the beyond their conservative base.
ready to embark on a post-2018 autopsy. Ricketts said the GAI would soon be reviewing voters' files across the country for clues as to how to better target potential supporters. And in Texas, where the party fought back against Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Greg Abbott's political team will conduct a two-day post-mortem investigation into the state's turnout and its comparison with his pre-election targeting efforts. 19659008] Some believe, however, that the party's problems go far beyond the tone or tactics and that its overall image needs to be addressed.
In a brief interview Thursday morning, Utah's governor, Greg Herbert, expressed his frustration at Trump's inflammatory tone, which he often told offended people. Herbert said that he was particularly upset by the president's post-election attack on Rep. Mia Love, a Republican from Utah who had lost shortly after refusing to embrace the President.
The member, Trump told the press, did not succeed because she "gave me no love …. Pity. Sorry, Mia. "
" I think it was not good to throw her under the bus, "Herbert said. This is the first Republican African-American woman elected to the Congress of American History and we are proud of it. . And she was doing good things.
He adds, "You do not have to be restrained, and that's part of the challenge we have with this administration.
Herbert stated that he had not directly expressed his concerns to the White House, but he hinted that he could do so at an upcoming meeting with the Vice President Mike. Pence.
"I think he recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of our party and what can we do to minimize the weaknesses and amplify the positive aspects," said Herbert about Pence, former governor, [19659008ThegovernorsalsofocusedonTrump'stoneAtapresentationonWednesdayGovernorCharlieBakertookwhatsomeofthepublicviewedasaveiledblowtothesmash-mouthpresidentwhenhesaidheenjoyedbeing"calledthegovernorthemoreannoyinginthehistoryofMassachusetts"
Huddling with reporters after, Baker said that national Republicans had been cheated in recent weeks of elections by focusing on polarizing issues and not on the economy, which he said , is the real motivation of the electorate.
"I have often said that most voters were quite pragmatic and that they wanted to see results and performance," said Baker, who posts a 70% approval rate and was reelected by a landslide in his deep blue. State. "I do not know why some feds did not talk about the economy. That's what we did because we have a good story to tell.
Party officials said they envisioned a range of new approaches. Some wondered if they relied too much on research-oriented opposition television commercials to try to discredit Democratic candidates for Congress, an effort that often failed. Staff members spoke of one of the newly elected governors, Bill Lee, of Tennessee, who ran a largely positive, non-personal attack advertising campaign.
"Political rhetoric has become a source of division in many ways, and I am hopeful that at least in Tennessee, we can adopt this divisive campaign approach and transform it into a government approach, "said Lee. I hope it is a model for others. "
Not everyone was convinced that Trump is responsible for the party's losses.When he was asked if he saw the president as an asset or a disadvantage, Ricketts – who will play a key role in shaping the party's strategy for 2020 – shrugged it off.
"What you've seen here is that the natural ebb of what's going on in our system: when the party takes power in Washington, the other party then comes on, which is why Obama lost 60 seats in the House, "said Ricketts. so I do not think President Trump makes the difference as much as the ruling party in Washington, DC "
Ricketts has highlighted several successful governor races, including in Florida.The newly elected governor, Ron DeSantis, arrived at the conference to welcome a hero Wednesday, a long A line of donors and lobbyists lined up to meet the Florida Republican, who was surrounded by a broad, secure entourage.
At the White House, occasional criticism from Republican governors led to the suspicion of one of them coming up. a surprise 2020 main challenge to Trump. Some members of the administration focused on Hogan and Baker, two very popular state republicans who did not hesitate to change the president.
When asked this week when he was ready to challenge Trump, Baker laughed and said he "will not be running for president."
Hogan, however, was less definitive.
"Well, you can never ever say, I do not know at all if the president is even a candidate for re-election or what will happen in two years," he said. Never, ever, but I am now focusing on Maryland. "
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