Exhibit 1, the 2018 election: This was a blowout in the House of Representatives. The Democrats picked up 41 seats and became the majority. At this time the economy was humming, on the way to the best GDP growth since 2005. But our president, the leader of the Republican Party, decides to obsess about the caravans from Central America and illegal immigration instead of the economy. That's not to mention his tweets and his inability to filter what comes out of his mouth. The election was a referendum on Trump, and in the House he lost.
Exhibit 2, Jeff Flake: Flake voted with Trump something like 93% of the time. He was a reliable small-government, low-tax Republican. He was not an admirer of Donald Trump, and made that known. Our president, being the narcissist that he is, made it impossible for Flake to win the Republican primary in 2018. Flake didn't even run. Martha McSally was the nominee. She wasn't a strong general-election candidate in what was becoming a purple state, and Krysten Sinema, the Democrat, was elected, giving the Democrats one more seat in the Senate.
Exhibit 3, Kelly Loeffler: Kelly Loeffler ran hard to the alt-right to beat Trump loyalist Doug Collins in the Georgia Senate jungle election, even touting her endorsement of QAnon crazy Marjorie Taylor Greene. This will not help Loeffler in the Georgia runoff. Then in order to avoid Trump's wrath, Kelly Loeffler and the other candidate in the Georgia runoffs, David Perdue, asked for the resignation of the Republican Secretary of State of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger. Why? Because Trump wants to overturn the Georgia election regardless of whether he lost and Raffensperger is standing in the way. This demand will not help Loeffler with independents and other swing voters. Furthermore, Loeffler now has Covid. Why? Perhaps because she believes she has to follow the example of President Trump to keep his supporters, which means no masks, no social distancing, and congregating with crowds indoors. This will make it harder for her to campaign. And it will turn off people who think Covid is the big issue this year.
Exhibit 4, The Future: Trump is gunning for Brian Kemp, governor of Georgia, because he hasn't been sufficiently compliant with Trump's desire to manipulate Georgia election results. Also Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who hasn't exhibited the fealty that Trump craves. He will certainly support a primary challenger for DeWine, who's popular in Ohio. And may for Kemp. He'll be gunning for Lisa Murkowski in Alaska too, which I have mixed feelings about.