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by MARK POWELL
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“This should make them wake up, smell the coffee, and drink a cup or two at 310 First Street,” a national Republican strategist told me this week.
That’s the address of the Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters in Washington, D.C. – and the “this” referred to by the strategist was a political bombshell that exploded Saturday, some 1,400 miles away.
In a stunning upset, a Texas State Senate seat in a ruby red district flipped to Democratic control in a special election.
But first, the backstory…
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For the past week, Beltway sources have been buzzing about internal polling related to the upcoming midterm elections circulating in the upper stratosphere of GOP circles.
“Bad,” said one person who had seen it, but was not authorized to share specifics. “Bloody bad. We’re still nine months out, and it’s already looking like the Titanic heading toward an electoral iceberg.”
That was last Thursday. Then, voters in Texas Senate District 9 went to the polls on Saturday. When the ballots were counted, the results confirmed Republican jitters.
For the first time since 1992, a Democrat carried the district in the Fort Worth area. In fact, Democrat Taylor Rehmet didn’t just defeat conservative activist Leigh Wambsganss – he obliterated her by a 14.4% margin. Rehmet received 54,280 votes (or 57.2% of all ballots cast) compared to 40,600 votes (or 42.8%) for Wambsganss.
For context, this district went overwhelmingly for U.S. president Donald Trump in November 2024 – with the GOP nominee winning by 17%.
That’s a stunning 34% swing, for those of you doing the math… in the Democrats’ direction.
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Much is being made among the political chattering class of Trump’s endorsement of Wambsganss – and its inability to get her into the winner’s circle. Regular members of FITSNews‘ audience will recall a story two weeks ago that speculated on the waning significance of Trump’s backing.
Some observers are now saying his support can do more harm than good in certain swing districts.
But the Texas Senate 9th isn’t a swing district. In fact, it shouldn’t have been in play in any electoral environment -which makes the massive shift all the more startling.
Democrats are, naturally and rightfully, crowing about their win.
“It’s a warning sign to Republicans across the country,” Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin proclaimed.
That message is being received loud and clear by many GOP rank-and-file operatives. But as one told us, “the problem isn’t coming from 310 First Street – it’s coming from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.”
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To be more accurate, it’s coming from Mar-a-Lago in Florida – which is where Trump was located when he casually brushed off Saturday’s results.
“I’m not involved in that,” he insisted. “That’s a local Texas race.”
However, Trump had been involved just days earlier. He posted to social media three times in the run-up to the election, calling conservative activist Wambsganss a successful entrepreneur and “an incredible supporter” of the MAGA movement.
Even more embarrassing for Republicans was the money game. Fundraising filings submitted just last week showed Wambsganss dominating Rehmet in donations, amassing $2.5 million to just $400,000 for the Democrat.
That’s more than a 6-to-1 fundraising edge…
“For someone who is that attractive a candidate, with that kind of resources and backing, to lose that badly, it’s going to be a bloody midterm election for us,” one GOP campaign veteran glumly admitted to us.
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“Making matters worse, Democrats have found a winning issue,” a Republican pollster told us.
That issue? “Affordability.”
“Survey after survey shows they score highly with it,” the pollster lamented. “Never mind that they unleashed the price increase tsunami that came to be called ‘Bidenflation’ with their reckless spending when they controlled Congress in 2021 and 2022. The party in the White House at any given time owns the economy – and so voters are taking out their affordability frustrations on Republican candidates.”
Another factor is coming into play, too.
“It’s time to face it,” another GOP strategist said. “Trump Fatigue is not only here already, but it’s also being felt at the polls. Trump has been on the national political scene since 2015, and frankly, his act is wearing thin even with three-timers who voted for him in ’16, ’20, and ’24. Throw in the Never Trumpers and, of course, Democrats who’ve always despised him, and this isn’t a good time to appear on the ballot with an ‘R’ beside your name.”
A discernible sense of fatalism is starting to emerge among GOP political pros.
“Trump is a drag on the ticket now, no doubt about it,” one sighed. “But what can you do? He’s the head of the party. I’m reminded of the advice Queen Victoria gave her daughter for her wedding night: ‘Close your eyes and think of England.’ Maybe that same approach can work for us this election cycle, too?”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.
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8 comments
Probably not if Trump succeeds in all his desperate attempts to blatantly rig the election. Nationalize some states? Do away with mail in and machines? Seizing the 2020 Georgia vote data?
Remember, every accusation from Trump and his MAGA Republican cult are either projections or confessions. And almost all of them are still scared shitless of “daddy”.
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Trump is a drag on the ticket now, no doubt about it,” one sighed. “But what can you do? He’s the head of the party.”
They are all spineless cowards. There is plenty they can do, but they have chosen Trump over the country. If they followed Queen Victoria’s advice, they would close their eyes and remove the corrupt criminal running the party. Will it hurt their future political prospects? I don’t think so. But even if it did, be the man or woman the people who elected you deserve. Close your eyes and think of America.
Would help if supposed conservatives/libertarians started asking questions about things they supposedly care about – deficits, tariffs (taxes), wars, 1A and 2A rights, Epstein list, etc.
But no, you have to rally around the orange moron.
“If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it.” Lindsey Graham May 3, 2016
Neocon Pronouncement Number 971 of Lindsey Graham that turned out to be completely wrong.
Trump is the biggest Neocon in your lifetime. If the Senate were not holding him back, he would have already invaded numerous countries. He just stole 500 million dollars of Oil from Venezuela, using our military, and then sold it and put the money in a foreign bank account under his control. No accountability for that money, no oversight. We would have boots on the ground in Greenland or Iceland, since he does not seem to know the difference, and Mexico. Canada would definitely not be safe. He has already destroyed the NATO alliance. Trump is a petty, power-hungry, vindictive tyrant.
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