Staff Reports
The Republican Party may have missed out on a chance to secure a Senate majority in 2022, but we should remain optimistic about the future. Even though they narrowly lost one seat, there were many winnable seats that were unfortunately out of reach. Despite several states being under consideration, including Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, the Republicans were unable to secure any of these positions.
NEW Sunday Sneak @axios: “Senate Republicans have been gifted a historically favorable map for 2024, but they are again facing the risk of problematic candidates emerging in must-win races.” https://t.co/iU3xciJdNb
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) March 12, 2023
It is frustrating that even competitive states such as New Hampshire and Washington were not considered. If a wave year had occurred in favor of the Republicans, these states could have been more competitive. Republican supporters should not lose heart, as the 2024 Senate map is even more in their favor. This time the Republicans should be able to win back the Senate with ease.
One of the most exciting prospects is Joe Manchin’s seat in West Virginia. Even though he is known for his resilience, he may find himself challenged by a strong Republican candidate. This seat could potentially be the 50th needed for Senate majority control. But let’s not forget about the other opportunities available in purple-to-red areas such as Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
However, we must beware of another debacle when it comes to selecting our nominees. We don’t want the same mistakes from previous elections to be repeated which resulted in the fielding of un-electable or less-electable nominees. Some Republicans are concerned that this may occur again during the 2024 race, making it a repeat of 2022.
As we saw during the recent governor’s race in Pennsylvania, Kari Lake continues to deny her loss and Donald Trump’s loss in 2020. Her performance at the CPAC dinner was compelling, and we hope she runs for Senate. Yet Lake may follow in the footsteps of failed gubernatorial republican hopeful Doug Mastriano, who didn’t fare well against the Democrats. But according to a recent Democratic poll, he may well become the Republican nominee for Senate. Democrats rejoiced at this news, and they are hoping for a repeat of their past success when they tried to meddle in Republican candidate selection.
But no need to fear! GOP voters should take note of which candidates Democrats prefer and decline to choose those ones. We should never forget that in the last round of elections, when Democrats meddled in Republican candidate selection, they won. So let us keep our eyes on the prize and support the candidate that will crush the Democrats’ plans.
