Hawley Declares GOP ‘Dead’ after Midterm Bust
Senator Josh Hawley declared Saturday that the old Republican Party “is dead” after its significant underperformance in the midterm elections.
“The old party is dead. Time to bury it. Build something new,” the Missouri senator said.
After anticipating a “red wave,” the GOP did not deliver expected returns in many House and Senate races. As of latest results, the GOP is projected to barely capture the former and the Democrats will retain control of the latter chamber.
The balance of power in the Senate was solidified after Democratic candidate Catherine Cortez Masto announced victory against former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt on Saturday.
Members of the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus are currently attempting to disrupt House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become speaker of the House. They have started drafting a list of conditions, putting McCarthy in a precarious position given that he needs to receive 218 votes to assume it.
Infighting among Republican leadership has ensued since the midterm bust. Many Trump-endorsed candidates lost their races or garnered smaller winning margins than more moderate Republicans, indicating that many voters wanted a departure from the MAGA movement. Many Republicans are arguing that the outcome was a rejection of Trump’s involvement and influence in the GOP. More concrete evidence of that lies in Governor Ron DeSantis’s slam dunk reelection in Florida, where he dominated his opponent among many demographics and groups thought to be Democratic blocs, such as Hispanics.
Hawley, who is advocating for an overhaul of the party, is part of the more populist MAGA wing. A Trump loyalist, he is remembered for raising his fist in solidarity with the crowd of Trump supporters gathered outside the Capitol on January 6. In July, Hawley doubled down on the gesture, saying that he doesn’t regret “anything” he did on that day.
“I don’t regret anything that I did that day,” Hawley told CNN at the time. “And I want to thank — say thank you for all the help with my fundraising. It’s been tremendous.”
