Find a better nominee: The RNC should find a better presidential candidate
All views expressed are solely the author’s
Election Day 2022 is over, and it’s time to throw out the postcards, pick up the yard signs and look at what the American people are saying about the kind of political climate they are looking for.
Many analysts predicted the formation of a “red wave” across the nation, which was seemingly battered down by intense voter frustration over the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision in June. While both sides had their respective wins and losses on Nov. 8, voters made one theme clear: they are done with Donald Trump. If Republicans are hoping for a win in 2024, it is imperative for the party that they find a new frontrunner.
What do people like Kari Lake, Blake Masters and Dr. Mehmet Oz all have in common? They are all Trump endorsees who lost in states that would have been key to a red electoral map in 2024. Many of these candidates made it through their party primaries with rhetoric about “Republicans in name only” and “election fraud,” but for voters in a general election — especially a swing state — it was clearly not appetizing.
Furthermore, Trump sought to ride the momentum from a GOP landslide as he teased a 2024 run for the White House in the final days of the campaign trail, further reminding voters what having his endorsed candidates in office could mean for the future of the United States.
Mainstream Republican leadership has also picked up on these trends, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell holding back money from super PACs to many candidates he deemed to be too close to Trump, who he blamed for costing the GOP Senate seats in 2020 due to outright lies about the election being stolen.
McConnell and others have also expressed desire for better candidates, as a Trump endorsement seems to do two things in swing states: suppress the GOP vote and motivate Democrats to get to the polls.
If the Republican National Committee wants to bring a Republican back to the White House, they need a better candidate. Since there’s no one who will be able to convince Trump to drop out of the race, the RNC needs to find a fresh voice for the party that is principled, fair and able to serve as a leader for all who call this country home.
Many Republicans wrote off Trump’s red flags in 2016, saying, “Well, I like his policy ideas, just not him as a person.” Make no mistake — policy says what a leader will do when someone is watching, but personality can say more about what they will do with no one looking on.
The Republican nomination of 2024 could make or break the future of the party for years to come. Between 2020 and 2022, voters have said twice that they are ready to be done with Trump. If he’s nominated in 2024, they’ll say it again.
