Republicans have officially blown their chance at control of the U.S. Senate until at least January 2025, Save Jerseyans, following the race call in Nevada on Saturday evening. Georgia’s much-discussed December run-off will now merely decide whether Democrats have a one seat cushion or a de facto majority thanks to Kamala Harris’s tiebreaker vote.
The GOP’s failure to pick up a single seat this year (and, in fact, the likelihood of a net loss in the Senate) in the midterm cycle of an unpopular president is setting off a furious round of finger-pointing in GOP power circles.
As early as Friday, veteran Senator Marco Rubio – part of the party’s insurgent Floridian faction – urged a delay of the upcoming leadership election in light of Election 2022’s disappointing results:
The Senate GOP leadership vote next week should be postponed
First we need to make sure that those who want to lead us are genuinely committed to fighting for the priorities & values of the working Americans (of every background) who gave us big wins in states like #Florida
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 11, 2022
Then on Saturday, Missouri’s Josh Hawley employed a rhetorical flourish to drive home a seemingly similar sentiment.
“The old party is dead. Time to bury it. Build something new,” Hawley tweeted:
The old party is dead. Time to bury it. Build something new
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) November 13, 2022
It seems increasingly likely that the past week’s deeply disappointing results could translate to a leadership turnover. The only question, it seems, may be how ugly things get before the next new thing emerges.
Nothing is certain of course.
Mitt Romney (hardly representative of the average Republican in Congress) nevertheless came to Mitch McConnell’s defense prior to the election; he hasn’t commented publicly since Tuesday’s meltdown:
The person most responsible for Senate GOP momentum and likely majority: Mitch McConnell. He personally raised the hundreds of millions (!) that evaporated the Dem lead in the swing states. Speaks softly, carries a big stick.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) November 3, 2022