Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), who is to be replaced by Democrat John Fetterman in Congress in January, acknowledged on Thursday that former President Donald Trump was not a positive influence on the campaign. Republican ticket in Pennsylvania – which saw far-right candidate Doug Mastriano lose beyond Mehmet Oz.
In a CNN interview, the retired senator began by criticizing the influence of Mastriano’s campaign on the yes-fear races. “We have a radical MAGA candidate who has never even tried to expand beyond a professional establishment, very very committed to him,” said Toomey. “But in the end he lost in an epic fight.” Mastriano, a People who refuse to vote in 2020was defeated by a convincing margin of more than 14 points, but refused to give in.
As for the loss of several winnable congressional races at home, Toomey said he believes it was due to “a combination of a real problem at the top of the ticket, but also President Trump himself. insert yourself into the race”.
“It was never going to be helpful,” Toomey said, adding that Mastriano “was his big concern.”
“We’re at a point where Republicans are racing to talk about President Biden, who isn’t famous, but the policy has failed,” Toomey said. “And instead, President Trump had to insert himself, and that changed the nature of the race and that created too many obstacles.”
Oz consistently lags behind Fetterman in the polls after narrowly beating the more mainstream Republican David McCormick. Even Trump reported about Oz’s chances after endorsing him.
Toomey also notes “very high correlation between MAGA candidates and large losses”, for example in both House races and Senate Competition in New Hampshire.
“My party needs to come to terms with the reality that if loyalty to Donald Trump is the primary criterion for selecting a candidate, we may not be doing really well,” Toomey argued.
When asked by CNN’s Erin Burnett if the disappointing results of this year’s midterms would be enough to keep the party away from Trump, Toomey was skeptical.
“There will not be a single point where the fever breaks out and Donald Trump becomes irrelevant. That is not likely to happen,” Toomey predicted. “What I think is [that] His influence wanes and the weakening we had across the country on Tuesday night from the Republican point of view increases the speed at which that influence wanes. “
“You know, there were some interesting data points. A year or two ago if you asked Republican voters [whether] they consider themselves traditional Republicans or Donald Trump Republicans, [Trump] had a big lead,” he said. “That was debunked. And that is saying, I think. And I think that will continue. “
