Where Goes Mr Trump?

For John, BLUF:  Has Donald Trump, who many of us love, crested and turned politically toxic?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump's shadow loomed over Pennsylvania's Republican bloodbath

From The Washngton Examine, by National Political Reporter Salena Zito, 9 November 2022, 03:02 PM.

Here is the lede plus six:

The red wave that had been predicted to sweep through the Keystone State never materialized.  Instead, Democrats captured the governor’s office, flipped a Republican-held U.S. Senate seat, kept all nine of their congressional seats, flipped several state House seats, and lost just one state Senate seat.

It was a bloodbath so bad for the GOP that it can only be now seen as a solid blue wave that countered the solid red wave Republicans had in this state just two years earlier in down-ballot elections in 2020, when Republicans swept those elections despite President Joe Biden's top-ticket victory.

Democrat Josh Shapiro did as expected and won the governor’s office handily over Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano.  Democrat John Fetterman won as well, by not as much, but the work he did before his stroke in the past few years in his previous failed run for the Senate, and in his successful run for the lieutenant governor’s office, held.  All of the goodwill he had built up in rural counties gave him just enough votes to overcome Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz's efforts to win the election.

Both men swept away all chances of Republicans gaining any new seats in the House and nearly erased their majority in the state House — one seat hangs in the balance and is too close to call.  It was an utter and complete repudiation of the state's Republican Party.

G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Millersville University, attributed Tuesday night's results to three things that had been missed by analysts, pollsters, and reporters, including me.

The first, he said, was "Fetterman holding onto the relationships he developed in the rural counties long before he ran for election this time."  The second was abortion.  The third was that although voters were unhappy with Biden, they were even more unhappy with Trump’s presence during the last week before the election.

Trump's rally in Pennsylvania the Saturday before the election, and his signaled intention to announce another presidential bid later this month, may have done more damage than anyone knew.

If Reporter Zito says the voters were turned off by President Trump, then you can take it to the bank.  I am not sure Mr Trump's prnouncements toward Gov DeSantis and Gov Youngkin these last few days have added to his luster.  In the end it will be on the primary voters, but in the mean time Republican national, state and local leadership should be working to develop an open and inquiring population of Voters.  Voters capable of compromise and asking themselves about the long game.  None of us will get all we want.  All of us should, however, be focused on maintaining our Republican form of ggovernment, with rights for all and a welcoming of all people who have our faith in capitalism and the basic goodness of the Amercan People.

Exit Question:  Does the electin of Lt Gov John Fetterman as Senator signal that the Voters will be happy enough to support Presdent Biden for a second term?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff