Rove on GOP maintaining Senate control in midterms: ‘It could be close’
Republican strategist Karl Rove said that the GOP may risk losing control of the Senate in next year’s midterms as the party faces rocky political territory.
“Well, it could be close. I mean, first of all, remember, we have Maine — is critical to us. The reelection of [Sen.] Susan Collins [(R-Maine)], she ran not — she won by nine points while Trump was losing the state by nine. That’s — think about that — one out of nearly, one out of every five Maine voters six years ago, voted for the Democrat for president and the Republican for the U.S. Senate. That’s really unusual.” Rove said Saturday on Fox News’s “Journal Editorial Report.”
Recently, Republicans have faced political headwinds over President Trump’s immigration agenda, concerns about the economy and the administration’s foreign policy.
A polling average from Decision Desk HQ shows that Trump’s approval rating sits at 42.7 percent and his disapproval rating is now at 54.6 percent.
Senate Republicans have expressed concern that pushback on Trump could result in a Democratic wave and end GOP control of the upper chamber.
“The Republicans cannot take the Senate for granted. They’ve got to worry about it. And again, the economic messaging cannot only be from the White House,” Rove said on Saturday
“The Republican candidates themselves, whether they’re in office or trying to get in office, have to have a concerted attention to this, and they have to have the right messaging and the right attitude,” he added, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
Democrats also notched some notable political victories in the last couple of months.
Trump himself has warned of of a possible Democratic victory in next fall’s midterm elections, appearing to bring down expectations months prior to the midterm elections.
“Presidents, whether it’s Republican or Democrat, when they win, it doesn’t make any difference. They seem to lose the midterms,” the president said earlier this year.
“Maybe they want to put up a guard fence. You just don’t know. It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “Hopefully we’re going to change that around. We’re doing great.”
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