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President Donald Trump was a dominant force in the mid-term elections, as his attitude towards him influenced the decisions of more than 6 out of 10 voters. According to AP VoteCast, women voted much more in favor of Democratic candidates. (Nov. 6)
AP

Republican Jim Jordan represents the 4th congressional district of Ohio.(Photo: Michael Reynolds, EPA)

WASHINGTON – Conservative Republicans joined the president in blaming the ruling wing of their party for losing control of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, highlighting the centrist Republican massacre as proof that the GOP has to go further to the right.

"The squishy members who lost their races are the ones who did not join this conservative agenda," said David McIntosh, chairman of the conservative group Club for Growth, during a lively news conference. by more than half a dozen conservative leaders.

The press conference held near Capitol Hill took place while President Donald Trump was giving his version of a summary of the election night at the White House. The president attacked some of the lawmakers who had lost and said they had failed because they had not kissed him.

"Mia Love did not give me love and she lost, pity," said Trump, speaking of the outgoing representative of Utah.

The Democrats snatched the House from Republican control on Tuesday, earning at least the 23 seats needed to change rooms. Some extra races were still too close to be called Wednesday afternoon. The purge hit Republicans in the suburbs particularly hard, knocking down centrists from across the country, from the suburbs of Virginia to Utah via California.

"Republicans threw a lot of dead weight last night," said David Bozell, president of ForAmerica, a conservative rights organization.

But some conservatives who have adopted Trump have lost, including representatives Dave Brat of Virginia, Rod Blum of Iowa and Claudia Tenney of New York.

Since the most conservative members usually belong to safe Republican districts, most re-election candidates will return to Congress next year. The GOP conference, although smaller, will be less centrist.

Conservatives say that means it's time to give a new direction to their leaders. They call on Republicans to elect Ohio representative Jim Jordan, co-founder of the ultra-conservative House Freedom caucus, to head the minority. Jordan announced that he was running for the job Tuesday morning. It is not clear that Jordan, who has angered many members of his own party, has the votes to win. He is facing the current House Majority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Who also announced Wednesday that he would run for office. Outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Has endorsed McCarthy.

Former Republican Congressman Phil English, who represented Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2009, told USA TODAY that the installation of conservative conservatives in leadership positions was not a winning project for his party.

English said Republicans should instead focus on "raising awareness among suburban residents, women and voters.

"I do not think that the approach of the freedom caucus has been ratified by this election," said Mr. English.

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