WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNN) – One year out from the 2022 midterm elections, 58% of Americans say President Joe Biden hasn’t paid enough attention to the nation’s most important problems, according to a new CNN poll. And Democrats’ slim congressional majorities are in grave danger in next year’s elections.
A Republican resurgence is in the air exactly one year before the 2022 midterm elections.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) said, “We can no longer talk about the past and the past elections – no matter where you stand on that issue, no matter where you stand, it is over.”
Christie offered a blunt roadmap for the party’s future: “Every minute that we spend talking about 2020 – while we’re wasting time doing that – Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are laying ruin to this country. We better focus on that and take our eyes off the rearview mirror and start looking through the windshield again.”
He’s talking, of course, about former President Donald Trump — the proverbial elephant in every Republican room – whose conspiracy theories, grievances and score-settling are a driving force in a party still firmly in his command.
A year after losing the White House and control of Congress, Republicans are at a critical crossroads as they capitalize on Democratic divisions in hopes of reclaiming their majority.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said, “Is President Trump part of that discussion? Of course he is. And those voices that want to silence him, I think, are ridiculous.”
Fresh signs of optimism are coursing through the GOP following a big win in the Virginia governor’s race and a stunning finish in New Jersey. Yet those signs of strength have shined a brighter light in balancing the risks and rewards of embracing the former president.
Monday in Kentucky, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) instructed his party to spend more time talking about President Biden.
“The key to ‘22 is to have a discussion with the American people about how they feel about the new administration and the Democratic Congress and what they’re doing,” McConnell said. “So, I think the election will be about the future, not the past.”
Trump’s role in midterm election races – and whether he runs for president again – is a central question hanging over the party.
At a weekend GOP gathering in Las Vegas, that question was on the backburner as former Vice President Mike Pence and a parade of Republicans made appearances.
“Just 12 months away from a great Republican comeback!” Pence said, “We are going to win back this country in 2024!”
That field of potential 2024 candidates is already taking shape with more than a dozen ambitious Republicans in the earliest stages of exploring a run, some of whom said they would step aside if Trump steps up again.
Not Christie, who told CNN’s Maeve Reston that doing so would be a sign of weakness: “Anybody who says that they’ll step aside for anybody else, I’d say to you, doesn’t belong being president.
You don’t believe in yourself enough to stand up to anyone, then you can’t possibly stand up for everyone.”
To rebuild, Republicans know they must win over at least some of the suburban voters who left the party under Trump. That was one of the brightest spots for the GOP in last week’s elections.
Ari Fleischer, a longtime Republican and former White House press secretary, said any questions about Trump would be answered after the midterm elections. “This suburban reversal is significant – with or without Donald Trump on the ballot,” he said. “The trick for Republicans going forward, in my opinion, is to keep revving up the rural areas and the lower-income, non-college educated areas, and just be reasonable in the suburbs. Don’t scare people and the suburbs will come home.”
During an event in his home state of Kentucky, Senator Mitch McConnell said he believes the upcoming midterms are “likely to be a very good election for Republicans.”
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