Some Republican strategists say former President Trump has swept to “do the election in his favour” by revealing he will make a major announcement next week on the eve of the midterm elections.
We want nothing to detract from the importance of tomorrow. You get that, Trump said at a rally for Senate candidate J.D. Vance in Ohio on Monday night.
“I’m going to make a very big announcement on Tuesday, November 15th,” he added, noting that the announcement will come at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
“When someone says they don’t want to detract, get ready for some detraction,” longtime GOP strategist Douglas Hay tells DailyMail.com. “Trump is all about Trump and after months of being on the sidelines — good months for Republicans — Trump had to make it all about him.” once again.’
Another Republican strategist said the results were already “baked in the cake” and having the former president’s name in the mix would have little effect.
I think the cake is baked for the 2022 election, and the specter of Trump’s candidacy may have little or no impact on the outcome. Had he announced his candidacy before the election, it might have been a different story, said strategist Ken Spin.
Some Republican strategists say former President Trump swept in to “make the election about him” by revealing he would make a major announcement next week on the eve of the midterm elections.
Donald Trump and former First Lady of the United States Melania Trump speak to the media after the vote at Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center, Palm Beach, Florida, Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Trump’s Monday announcement could be a “real problem” for Republicans, Jim Dornan, a strategist told DailyMail.com.
“Thank God he stopped announcing anything last night. That would have been a real problem in many of these close races.” In terms of next week, I think announcing this quickly after the midterms could indicate some concern on his part. He’s losing his grip on the party and frankly, he’s probably right about that.”
Dornan added, “I don’t think it changes the landscape dramatically in terms of who gets into the primaries or not.” He noted potential contenders such as out-of-office-term-term Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2027, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia in 2026.
So will DeSantis skip 2024 and look forward to 2028 when he would have been out for two years? Will he wait for Youngkin 3? Trump’s numbers are not as strong as they have been, so I think the fear factor among the other candidates dissipates a little bit.”
Sources familiar with Trump said the former president was shooting to announce his candidacy ahead of the midterm elections. Many urged him to wait, in part to avoid turning the election into a referendum on him, and in part to avoid censure if Republicans perform poorly on Tuesday.
But the former president is eager to shake off the momentum of the GOP and after endorsing nearly 300 candidates, also to tip off other Republicans who have indicated they may want to back down.
Among Trump’s fiercest potential GOP opponents is DeSantis, who is running a re-election race for governor that he appears poised to win. But if Trump announces immediately after the midterms, DeSantis will have just won re-election to governor and will be hard-pressed to immediately throw his hat in the ring for the presidency.
In Ohio, where Trump made his announcement, venture capitalist and hillbilly author J.D. Vance now has an eight-point lead over Democrat Tim Ryan for the open Senate seat, according to Real Clear Politics.
During Trump’s speech, he also bashed Democrats on crime levels and the economy, both of which are expected to be top issues for voters and issues that Republicans have largely led in the polls.
“If you want to stop the destruction of our country and save the American dream, you have to vote Republican tomorrow in a giant red wave we’ve all been hearing about,” Trump said.
Republicans lead into Tuesday comfortably poised to capture the majority in the House of Representatives, and he has a good chance of grabbing power in the Senate.
If that happens, it will be largely due to Trump’s influence over the midterm elections, and an unlikely group of outside candidates who have turned long-running campaigns into hurling races.
- RealClearPolitics predicts a decisive Republican majority in the House of Representatives and a possible victory in the Senate
- A narrow Senate victory could lead to bigger gains in 2024, when Democrats have more seats up for grab than Republicans, a GOP aide told DailyMail.com.
- The economy remains high on most voters’ minds, albatrosses for Democratic candidates as Republicans associate them with Biden’s fiscal policies.
- Trump promised a “big ad” on November 15, sparking Republican fears that the specter of a Trump 2024 ad would affect independents.
- President Joe Biden told reporters Monday night that it would be “difficult” to govern with a Republican majority in both houses of Congress.
According to some insiders, Trump wanted to make the announcement on election eve at a rally in Dayton, Ohio
Trump has been increasingly vocal about his plans, saying in recent days that he is “very, very, very likely” to run again and will formalize his intentions “very, very soon.”
But questions are being raised about whether injecting Trump into the races could spur the Democrats’ turnout over the Republicans and whether it would spur the Republicans in favor of the former president or drive them away.
Before Trump set Nov. 15 as the date for the observation, longtime Rep. ally Matt Gaetz urged him on Twitter to announce the Monday night run.
TO ALL REPORTERS AND CALLING ME: TRUMP TOnight must declare his nominees victorious in the primary election, said the Florida Republican. “Biden’s central message has been the ‘ULTRA MAGA’ scare and we will win big!” Trump deserves all the credit for this election wave and tonight he announces he will seize it.
Trump has been increasingly vocal about his plans, saying in recent days that he is “very, very, very likely” to run again and will formalize his intentions “very soon.”
“I’ll probably have to do it again, but stay tuned,” he said Sunday night in Miami. “Stay tuned tomorrow night in the great state of Ohio.”
Ohio Republican attorney and political strategist Mehek Cook said she never believed Trump would announce his candidacy in Ohio, but believes it’s “definitely motivating” to run before the election.
He’s going to Florida. I think this is the best place to advertise. It’s one of the strongest states in our country right now, in terms of COVID recovery and all the policies we’ve seen outside of that state, so I’m not surprised he announced yesterday. .
“But I think it certainly motivates Republicans to get out and vote,” Cook added. Ohio’s J.D. Vance was a late start until President Trump came along and endorsed him during the primaries. So it was effective in helping a lot of voters decide who to vote for in key races.
Republican activists are likely to find the ad an “unwelcome distraction” in the eleventh hour of campaigning, said Dr. Adam Quinn, professor of US political science at the University of Birmingham.
Most Republican candidates and staffers will view news reports about Trump’s plans to announce his presidential candidacy early as an unwelcome distraction from their core campaign themes. The former president is deeply unpopular with the electorate, and in most cases Democrats would welcome the opportunity to make Trump an issue on voters’ minds even when he’s not on the ballot.
But Trump seemed unconcerned with the prospect of disparagement from polled Republicans, telling reporters after casting his ballot in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday that he was “looking forward” to next week’s announcement.
Asked about his potential 2024 candidacy while in Palm Beach, Trump replied, “I think Tuesday (November 15th) is going to be a very exciting day for a lot of people, and I look forward to seeing you at Mar-a-Lago.”
“I think we’re going to have a great night, it’s going to be great for the country,” he told reporters after casting his vote.
No matter who you vote for, you have to vote. This will be a very important election.”
