RNC Chairman Reince Priebus admitted that if Democrats keep the Senate it will be another failed election for the Republican Party.
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STEPHANOPOULOS: — if Republicans don’t take the Senate…
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: — on Tuesday, is it a failure?
PRIEBUS: I think we have to take the Senate. Yes, I would be very disappointed. But, you know, here’s the thing. I don’t know why Debbie keeps using this have your back line. I’m not going to go there again. But I — I — I would encourage the media to look at what the DNC is actually spending on the ground with this ground game. The DNC — in reality, in this mid-term is not our competition, it’s the Senate Democrat Committee that’s putting the ground game together, not the DNC and not what Debbie’s talking about. And we’re winning on the ground.
The last few days of any campaign are about the get out the vote sell. Republicans days before the 2012 election that they were winning. Remember Romentum, while Karl Rove and Dick Morris predicted a President Romney? Even when they are getting blown out of the water, Republicans claim that they are winning.
It would be nothing short of a complete disaster for Republicans. Even though polling appears to be moving in their direction, votes still have to be cast and counted. Priebus’ claim that Republicans are winning on the ground disguises the fact that in many of the red states where Democratic incumbents are fighting to hang on, Republicans should be winning on the ground. Republicans should win on the ground in places like Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky, and Alaska.
If Republicans win in those states, it’s not some national wave against Democrats. Republican victories in red states with Democratic senators would represent a further strengthening of the national political polarization.
Republicans are betting everything on winning the Senate. This could turn out to be a foolish strategy as it looks likely that Democrats will take the Senate back in 2016. If Democrats keep the Senate, it could be years before Republicans get another shot at the majority.
A Democratic win on Tuesday wouldn’t just be a failure, it would be party crushing defeat for Republicans.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
