Walker's loss in Ga. spurs new GOP hand-wringing, calls for new strategy - The Washington Post

Republican operatives raised concerns astir spending deficits, on-the-ground strategy and the party’s quality to entreaty beyond its base. But the hand-wringing repeatedly came backmost to their candidate, 1 of galore inexperienced and polarizing nominees who mislaid battleground races this year.

Brian Robinson, a GOP operative successful Georgia, said that contempt each the hurdles, Walker “almost pulled this off,” noting that helium inactive captured much than 48 percent of the vote. But to gain those other fewer percent points to triumph successful Georgia, Republicans request candidates who tin transportation whom helium called “comparison shoppers,” not “tribal voters.” Other Republicans who won crossed the authorities connected Nov. 8 ran arsenic “steadyhanded, levelheaded, competent, no-fireworks leaders,” helium said.

Walker’s run unit grew gloomy successful the last stretch, according to a staffer who spoke connected the information of anonymity to stock backstage conversations. The candidate’s five-day lack from the run way astir Thanksgiving — for idiosyncratic events and rest, the idiosyncratic said — didn’t help.

“It felt similar we had, you know, we had nary aerial successful our tires anymore aft that,” the staffer said. “Morale was stone bottom.”

Walker’s run did not respond to a petition for comment.

“We enactment retired 1 heck of a fight,” Walker said successful his Tuesday nighttime concession speech. He came successful 2.8 percent points down Warnock, struggling in municipality areas and suburbs and performing worse than helium did successful November, erstwhile neither campaigner got the 50 percent required successful Georgia to avert a runoff.

Walker was the lone statewide Republican campaigner who mislaid this successful twelvemonth successful Georgia. The GOP had hoped that Democrats’ occurrence successful the Peach State successful 2020 marked a atrocious twelvemonth alternatively than a caller norm — and galore operatives of some parties inactive telephone Georgia a red-leaning state.

The GOP did not instantly unify down Walker, adjacent aft helium easy won the information this spring. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) campaigned isolated from him for astir of the wide predetermination cycle, and immoderate Republicans were openly captious of Walker’s qualifications and doubted his electability. And adjacent arsenic Kemp became Walker’s astir invaluable surrogate during the runoff, GOP divisions hung implicit the race.

Walker’s run openly criticized immoderate Republican fundraising appeals for the campaigner that routed astir of the wealth to different Republicans. Meanwhile, allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who unsuccessfully challenged McConnell past period to pb the GOP caucus, sparred publically during the runoff, highlighting the tensions betwixt antithetic factions of the party.

The McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund — the GOP’s biggest spender successful the midterms — and its affiliated groups invested $18 cardinal during the runoff, connected apical of the $39 cardinal the SLF spent starring up to the Nov. 8 election, according to the organization. But extracurricular spending was not capable for Walker to drawback up to Warnock, who broke fundraising records this cycle. Democrats widened their spending vantage during the runoff, shelling retired doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic Republicans connected ads alone.

SLF President Steven Law “was dealt a atrocious manus with Trump, a anemic NRSC and a deficiency of enthusiasm for subpar candidates” this predetermination cycle, said GOP strategist Scott Reed.

A spokesperson for the SLF declined to comment, portion a spokesperson for the NRSC did not respond to an enquiry Wednesday. The NRSC spent much than fractional a cardinal dollars successful the runoff, according to AdImpact, and has defended its wide midterm strategy.

“While Herschel came up abbreviated past night, I cognize helium volition proceed to beryllium a person successful our enactment for years to come,” Scott, who campaigned successful Georgia with the campaigner during the wide predetermination and the runoff, said successful a connection Wednesday.

Walker’s run was dogged by repeated accusations of past misconduct: Former partners of Walker’s accused him of home unit and said that helium was a mostly absent begetter and that helium paid for their abortions contempt embracing strict bans connected the process arsenic a candidate. Walker denied galore of the claims portion saying helium did not retrieve definite incidents.

Democrats besides worked to item Walker’s gaffes connected the trail, cutting ads that consisted of voters reacting to dependable bites with laughter and disbelief. The Warnock run has been credited with gathering a conjugation that encouraged the Democrats’ wide basal but besides appealed to moderates and independents.

Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) — whose status this twelvemonth opened up a spot successful a cardinal battleground that Democrats flipped — argued that the occupation is not the Republican brand, but Trump’s. In an interview, helium echoed different Republicans who noted that candidates intimately aligned with Trump underperformed successful the midterms portion “more accepted Republicans” — including those who clashed with Trump — did well.

“We had a flawed campaigner — that’s to enactment it mildly — and [that’s ] wholly the instauration of Donald Trump. And we spot however that ended,” Toomey said.

In an interrogation Wednesday, the Walker run staffer said Trump’s determination to denote a 3rd White House bid during the runoff play — against galore Republicans’ urgings — analyzable the campaign’s last agelong and took immoderate of the absorption distant from Georgia.

“The request to reply for everything that Trump did oregon said was frustrating,” the staffer said, pointing to Trump’s wide condemned meal with the rapper Ye and achromatic supremacist Nick Fuentes, who person some made blatantly antisemitic comments. Walker’s run did not remark connected a amusement of enactment from Ye, formerly known arsenic Kanye West, earlier successful the fall. Trump and Walker’s team’s yet settled connected a tele-rally up of the runoff, which Walker did not advertise connected his societal media.

The Walker staffer besides lamented what they called a changeless conflict for Walker’s receptor betwixt experienced run operatives and those adjacent to Walker who had nary governmental experience.

GOP donors person expressed dismay astatine the midterms’ results and called for a displacement successful strategy. Some frustrated donors are talking astir mounting up their ain ace PACs, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with their reasoning who spoke connected the information of anonymity to picture backstage conversations.

Even earlier Walker’s loss, immoderate Republicans were lamenting that their enactment had developed an early-voting occupation — with galore GOP voters holding connected to their ballots until the past day, erstwhile upwind and different unforeseen factors could impact turnout, portion Democrats went all-out to get ballots successful early.

Seth Weathers, a Georgia authorities manager for Trump’s 2016 run — who was openly captious of Walker and said amended candidates would person won outright successful November — argued that Republicans person tons of enactment up to lucifer Democrats’ formidable on-the-ground turnout infrastructure.

“We’ve got to commencement gathering and facilitating the crushed crippled for 2024 … to a overmuch greater grade than we are,” helium said past week.

Adding to that challenge, Republicans said, are the other resources required to mobilize voters successful the agrarian areas that came retired for Walker. “The Warnock run tin conscionable absorption connected metro Atlanta conscionable astir and get it done,” lamented Fulton County Republican Party Chairman Trey Kelly. “Our radical person to spell astir the full authorities to get radical out.”

The Republican National Committee said it had 400 staffers and much than 85,000 volunteers connected the crushed successful Georgia moving connected turnout; the SLF besides invested astir $2 cardinal to repurpose Kemp’s get-out-the-vote operation.

Some of Trump’s astir ardent supporters dismissed accusations that Trump was liable for Republican losses. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) responded to a tweet by erstwhile nationalist information advisor John Bolton calling Trump “a immense liability and the Democrat’sbest asset.”

“This has to beryllium the dumbest appraisal of our Senate loss, His run told Trump to enactment out, truthful don’t blasted Trump. Blame the 1 who was manus holding him each implicit the state, among galore different reasons,” Greene said. It’s unclear whether she was referring to 1 idiosyncratic oregon the GOP enactment establishment.

Others successful the GOP suggested Georgia would accelerate the party’s displacement distant from the erstwhile president. Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) won reelection this autumn aft easy defeating Trump-backed challengers successful the primary. Republicans pointed to Kemp successful particular, who defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams by much than 7 percent points, arsenic grounds that voters extracurricular their basal are inactive receptive to Republican policies and messaging but person soured connected Trump arsenic the standard-bearer.

Scott Jennings, a longtime Republican operative associated with McConnell, summed it up successful a tweet Wednesday morning: “Georgia whitethorn beryllium remembered arsenic the authorities that broke Trump erstwhile and for all.”

Liz Goodwin contributed to this report.