President Donald Trump needs Pennsylvania if he hopes to win a second term -- but the state's Republican Party is reeling and mired in an internal power struggle.
Trump -- who won there by less than a percentage point -- was the first Republican to carry Pennsylvania since 1988, but the state's GOP may not be able to offer much help in 2020, reported Politico.
The state Supreme Court redrew the gerrymandered map, which helped Democrats flip three congressional seats in November's midterm election and won the gubernatorial race.
“These weren’t just defeats. They were bad defeats,” said GOP consultant Charlie Gerow. “The party has to be unified in order to win in 2020.”
But the party is not unified, after some Republicans blamed state chairman Val DiGiorgio for what Politico calls an "election from hell."
DiGiorgio insists that "no one in the state (has) been more supportive of President Trump than I have," but retiring Rep. Ryan Costello (R-PA) said the president had a "reverse" coattail" effect in the midterms.
“You’re talking about well-liked, experienced state representatives who worked their districts well and lost,” said Costello, who chose not to defend his seat under the redrawn congressional map.
"They lost because people were just disgusted with Republicans,” he added.
