On Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R–MO) wore his political coroner’s scrubs and declared that the Republican Party as we have known it is “dead.”
The senator from Missouri was responding to Tuesday’s midterm elections, where Republicans failed to make the significant gains they had hoped for. They are likely to rule the House by a slim margin rather than retaking it with a huge majority. Republicans were unable to reclaim the Senate, but depending on the outcome of the Georgia runoff election next month, Democrats may potentially gain one seat.
Republicans have been pointing fingers quite a bit, with the most of them appearing to be directed at the outgoing president Donald Trump, who sponsored a number of staunch MAGA candidates, occasionally in swing areas like Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania where Republicans performed poorly.
On Monday at the Capitol, Hawley gave reporters his post-election analysis: “I believe that this election served as the Republican Party’s actual funeral. The Republican Party as we have previously known it is no more. Voters have confirmed this, too. And in particular, independent voters from the working class who previously supported President Obama, then supported President Trump, but chose to abstain this time were the people who did not vote for Republicans in the recent election. If we can’t win over those voters, we won’t have a majority.”
On Monday, Republican senators gathered to discuss whether or not to renominate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Sen. Rick Scott, a challenger, stands in his way (R-FL).
After the election on Tuesday, many Republicans questioned Trump’s position within the party and if he would be a strong contender for the presidency in 2024, should Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) decide to run.
