Veteran GOP operative Karl Rove says Republicans should “worry” about losing the Senate in November midterms and they need to focus on their messaging about the economy.
During an appearance on The Journal Editorial Report on Fox News on Saturday, Rove pointed to a series of close Senate races he said could spell trouble for maintaining the Republican majority.
“Maine is critical to us. The re-election of Susan Collins, she won by nine points while Trump was losing the state by nine,” Rove, 75, said. “Think about that: nearly one out of every five Maine voters six years ago voted for the Democrat for president and the Republican for the U.S. Senate.”
“That’s really unusual. That’s going to be a tough race,” he added.
Rove then turned to North Carolina, which he said would be another “tough race,” with Sen. Thom Tillis retiring. Though “nice guy” Michael Whatley is running on the Republican side, Rove said, former two-term Democratic governor Roy Cooper is an early favorite, currently beating Whatley in every poll on The New York Times poll tracker.
“Not going to be an easy race,” Rove said.
The former deputy chief of staff under the George W. Bush administration said Michigan could be an “opportunity,” but that Georgia and Alaska would be difficult.
He added that Texas could be “easy” if they run longtime GOP incumbent John Cornyn, “but if they have a guy who’s got all kinds of problems, including three girlfriends, Ken Paxton, the attorney general, it could be a real mess.”
A new survey from the University of Houston suggests that the scandal-laden Paxton leads Cornyn in the Republican primary by seven points.
“So yes, the Republicans cannot take the Senate for granted; they’ve got to worry about it,” Rove concluded. “And again, the economic messaging cannot only be from the White House.”
“The Republican candidates themselves, whether they’re in office or trying to get in office, have to have a concerted attention to this, and they have to have the right messaging and the right attitude.”
Earlier in the Fox News spot, Rove also criticized Trump for “over-promising and under-delivering,” arguing that the president needs to do the opposite to win back Americans’ favor.
The latest New York Times/Siena University poll shows the president’s approval rating at 41 percent and disapproval at 55 percent.
Insiders told Axios on Friday that Republicans are freaking out over the midterms, as private surveys have predicted much more competitive races in conservative-leaning states than anticipated.
“A year ago, I would have told you we were almost guaranteed to win the Senate,” one strategist told the outlet. “Today, I would have to tell you it’s far less certain.”
