After Republicans had a woeful night Tuesday, Donald Trump celebrated himself.
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In what was otherwise a dreadful night for their party, House Republicans can breathe a sigh of relief after their candidates won special elections in two ruby-red Florida districts that should not have been as close as they were.
In the end, the margins of victory of the GOP candidates in the Sunshine State’s First and Sixth congressional districts were cut in half compared to last November.
On the one hand, all that counts for Republicans is that their slim House majority is now padded a little bit. The GOP currently holds a 220-213 edge with two vacancies that Democrats should eventually fill.
On the other hand, any Republican incumbent in a close district must be eyeing the Florida results warily because, especially when combined with the stinging defeat the GOP suffered in the high-stakes race to fill a seat on Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court, they must be viewed as a rebuke of Donald Trump’s policies.
Of course, the president had a different take on reality.
“BOTH FLORIDA HOUSE SEATS HAVE BEEN WON, BIG, BY THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE,” he wrote on his social media platform. “THE TRUMP ENDORSEMENT, AS ALWAYS, PROVED FAR GREATER THAN THE DEMOCRATS FORCES OF EVIL. CONGRATULATIONS TO AMERICA!!!”
There is some truth hidden underneath that misplaced bravado.
Not the part about the “big” wins. That’s nonsense. Prevailing by 16 and 14 points in districts that GOP candidates had carried by 32 and 34 points just a few months ago is nothing to be proud of.
However, Trump is correct in saying that Tuesday’s elections were far more about him than the actual candidates.
Obviously, this poor showing won’t make the president change course in any way or even lead to some kind of introspection, and it is unlikely that any House Republicans will break ranks with their increasingly unpopular leader simply because of one bad night, but GOP lawmakers in close districts will have to start thinking about whether they want to keep writing blank checks and ceding congressional authority to Trump.
Perhaps the American people don’t want their government destroyed, to take Russia’s side while attacking allies, or to see their stock market tank and prices go up.
As for the Democrats, they are smelling opportunity after hitting a low point in November.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said as much when he indicated that his party is ready to go on the offense.
“There are 60 Republicans in the House who currently represent districts where Trump did worse than 15 or 16 points,” he said. “And every single one of those districts, there is now a target on the back of those House Republicans.”
Finally, there is one area that Democrats and Trump can agree on: America can pat itself on the back tonight.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often humorous analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
