(TheRedWire.com) – The 2022 midterm elections didn’t pan out as Republicans expected. Despite narrowly winning the House, the GOP lost one seat in the Senate and failed to realize the potential red wave polls suggested was coming ahead of the election. Studies showed that former President Donald Trump’s endorsed candidates performed five points worse than those he did not endorse in the House. On Sunday, January 1, Trump explained why the red wave never materialized and unleashed a controversy with his stance.
As Trump prepares to position his presidential campaign ahead of the 2024 election season, he faces intense criticism for the GOP’s losses in November. On Truth Social, the former president said it wasn’t his fault the GOP vote totals weren’t better. Instead, he blamed the issue of abortion as the culprit and stated Republicans handled it poorly. He suggested those who insisted on “no exception” policies were the ones who lost the largest number of voters.
Did Abortion lose Republicans the midterms?https://t.co/ckHPrRtHit
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 2, 2023
While abortion did hurt Republican candidates, the former president may still hold some blame. He once said people who have an abortion deserve punishment. He also nominated three pro-life Supreme Court Justices.
The Daily Wire reported that a Heritage Action for America poll determined the GOP didn’t meet expectations because Republican candidates lost independent voters. It indicated the candidates didn’t offer a clear agenda and didn’t push back against the Democratic talking points on abortion.
The Heritage survey also noted that independents broke from Republicans despite their disapproval of President Biden’s job performance. Regarding messaging, only 24% of independents said government spending and inflation were the central messages of Republican candidates, and 23% stated their main message was they opposed Biden. Concerning Democrats, 37% pointed to abortion rights as a central Democratic talking point, and 30% said Democrats were clear in their messaging about threats to democracy.
So, was Trump right about having no responsibility for the GOP losses, despite saying he would take credit for their wins ahead of the election?
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