Raymond Baccari
Anchor Staff Writer
The Republican Party is at a crossroads now after President Trump lost his re-election bid to former Vice President Joe Biden. From 2016 onward, there has been a noticeable factionalization going on in the party between Moderate Republicans like Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) and pro-Trump Republicans like Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC). After President Trump’s loss and analyzing what the reaction from Republicans has been so far, it brings up a question that the party will need to answer which is, what is the future for the GOP?
The Republican Party’s future depends on the willingness to move on from President Trump, and focus that energy they have right now on a good ground game for the 2022 midterm election and running an even better 2024 presidential ticket. It is no secret that the 2022 midterm elections will most likely show a Republican wave year due to two things: historical precedents, and the energy the GOP has going forward. If the Party plays their cards right the turn will mimic the performance of the 2010 and 2014 midterms. If the GOP decides to start planning on running good candidates in the House and Senate races, then we could very well see them controlling both chambers of Congress in January of 2023. For the House elections, the GOP made impressive gains and are now within striking distance of the majority. The trend will continue if the party does what they did in this election cycle in the house elections by running great candidates and showing a desperately needed change in the party as a whole. For example, New York’s 11th congressional district saw a flip from red to blue in 2018 and back to red in 2020 because the Republicans ran a great candidate, Nicole Malliotakis, who wasn’t too connected to President Trump.
Now for the Senate elections, it will depend on how the January 5 runoff elections for the two remaining Senate seats in Georgia end up going. If the Republicans win both of them, they are without a doubt most likely keeping the majority in January of 2023. They would be at 52 seats and since they would be benefitting from a Republican wave year, they have a good chance at picking up seats if they can run good candidates like Governor Chris Sununu in New Hampshire, Governor Phil Scott in Vermont and any likable, moderate Republican in Arizona. This alongside holding potentially competitive Senate elections in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin since Wisconsin has recently trended more blue and Pat Toomey (R-PA) has decided to retire and not run for another term in 2022.
After what would be a red wave if all of that works in the Republicans’ favor, the real challenge will be running a good presidential ticket that shows the Republicans are willing to move on from President Trump. An idea that could be good for the GOP that has been discussed is running a ticket that doesn’t involve President Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), Vice President Mike Pence, Donald Trump Jr., or anyone on the Pro-Trump bandwagon. The best ticket I can think of for the Republican party as a political nerd involves some combination of what I would consider the future of the GOP; these names are Nikki Haley, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem, Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds and many more, but they are the top five choices that came to thought.
While this may seem like a tough pill to swallow for a lot of Republican voters, looking at the big picture, politically, this could benefit the party. Now the party has time to rethink their message, appeal to new voters, and win majorities in both chambers of Congress right on time to use that momentum to possibly win the presidency in 2024. Overall, the 2020 election results put the GOP at a crossroads and at the same time, gives them a chance to strengthen their party for years to come if they choose the right path.