With the conclusion of the off-year elections, Democrats faced major setbacks, primarily in Virginia and somehow in New Jersey as well, where their winning margin shrunk by manifold this time.
However, they are seeing glimmers of hope promising enough to keep them in the majority in the Senate next year.
The closely divided Senate is once again expected to be decided by at most a couple of seats, and Republicans had their hopes on state governors to run for the important seats and clinch the victory for them.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu recently announced not to run for the Senate, a verdict that will give the GOP a major blow in the next year’s elections.
Republicans were counting on them to flip the Senate, but this decision increased their worries as well.
Top Republicans not Showing Interest in 2022 Senate Race: A Pattern of Worry for Republicans
The New Hampshire Senate seat of Maggie Hassan was supposed to be one of the most interesting races in the next elections. So Republicans decided to rely on their governor Chris Sununu there.
Only a man of Sununu’s caliber was able to effectively de-seat Hassan based on his popularity and the approval rating in the state. But with the announcement of Sununu, the hopes are diminishing for Republicans in the state.
The Republicans’ best chance lies in the states of Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire, which Democrats are defending.
Democrats are primarily hoping to defend their existing seats and flip Pennsylvania’s seat. However, with the rising opportunities came rising challenges as well for the GOP.
In Georgia, for instance, a Trump-backed GOP candidate and former football player, Herschel Walker, is facing accusations of threatening to kill his former wife, which puts his candidacy in the doldrums.
The Associated Press unveiled documents related to the matter, which are promising enough to hurt his popularity even if he contests for the seat.
The same is the case with GOP’s Pennsylvania candidate, who is accused of abusing his wife.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey was also the top bid of Republicans in the Senate elections 2022, but he has also declined to run in the race.
Although he came at cross purposes with Donald Trump when he was bashed by the former president for certifying Biden’s victory in Arizona, he was still likely to clinch an important seat for Republicans.
Now Mark Brnovich is expected to run for the elections in Arizona. His track record will invite pro-Trump voters to vote against him, as he denied voter fraud efforts of him post-2020.
Even in the stronghold of Democrats like Vermont, which is considered a deep blue state, if one Republican had a chance to flip the Senate seat, he was the incumbent governor, Phil Scott.
This only hope of Republicans did not vote for Trump and spoke against core conservative issues. As a result, he denied interest in the senate race.
Then comes the Maryland governor, who has also declined to help GOP in the next year’s senate race by running for an all-important seat.
Wrong Choice of Candidates will Put the GOP in Trouble
Democratic infighting was widely perceived as one of the reasons to give Republicans an edge in next year’s elections.
The tables are turning now, with the same happening in the GOP as well. Post-Trump, the GOP is struggling to find their best bids for the senate races that are likely to haunt them.
Political pundits are also worried about the dangerous pattern they see in the GOP camps. Many of them are making an analogy with the 2010 Republicans upset as well, where they lost five Senate seats from 2010 to 2012 principally due to the poor selection of candidates.
The scrutiny which the Republican candidates have to go through this time is beyond normal. While the Virginia governor-elect Glenn Youngkin won walking against Donald Trump, it is highly unlikely to be the case with the GOP in general.
Final Thoughts
Republicans are facing too many complexities in their next year’s elections. That’s why they are not relying on their own achievements but on Democrats’ failure to clinch the majority in the midterm.
Nonetheless, their infighting post-Trump is likely to pay Democrats who can defend their majorities should they not decide to ax their own feet.
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.