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Republicans have a decent chance of taking control of the House of Representatives in the 2024 midterm elections. Even if Presidet Joe Biden remains popular, the fact that Republicans are only short a majority by 5 seats, combined with the fact that they control the redistricting process in more states than Democrats, give them a good shot.
But the GOP shouldn't expect smooth sailing if Kevin McCarthy becomes Speaker. On the contrary, noted The New York Times, Republicans assuming control of the House could tear open wounds between Trump supporters and skeptics within the party and cause more leadership turnover, as with the ousting this week of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) as conference chair in favor of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
The fundamental problem, wrote Giovanni Russonello, is that many of the Republican ranking members who would take over House committees in a GOP majority are part of Sarah Chamberlain's Republican Main Street Partnership, a relatively Trump-critical faction of the party, and their elevation might trigger a new wave of Cheney-like ousters.
"Although the House Republican Conference is now led entirely by a pro-Trump team, many of the top G.O.P. lawmakers on House committees have quietly resisted his takeover of the party," reported Russonello. "'If we get back the majority, we have a lot of our members leading committees,' Ms. Chamberlain said, referring to House lawmakers who belong to the Republican Main Street Partnership and have no love lost for Mr. Trump."
"This, of course, could spell only more dissension and division ahead of the 2024 presidential election, when the party's voters will have to decide whether to nominate a Trumpist candidate — maybe even the former president himself — or a more traditional Republican figure," concluded Russonello. "For now, the house remains divided."
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GOP consultants worry Stefanik will help Trump cripple their 2022 election hopes: report
May 15, 2021
Republican campaign consultants, with an eye on the 2022 midterm elections, are worried that New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik's elevation to a GOP leadership spot -- and her close allegiance to Donald Trump -- will make their job harder as they try to make the next election about Republican policies and not the man who just lost them the White House and the Senate.
According to a report in the Washington Examiner, elements within the Republican Party are eyeing the midterms believing they can -- at the very least regain the House -- while also worrying about Donald Trump's plans to insert himself into the election.
With Stefanik in a high-profile spot, they worry she will be handing Democrats a weapon with her unwavering support of the former president.
According to the report, "Stefanik was elected in large part because she is viewed as an effective television communicator who is a team player with good message discipline. These characteristics are viewed as assets as the GOP seeks to wipe out narrow Democratic majorities to win back control of Congress in next year's midterm elections."
However, the Examiner notes, she comes with a major downside.
"But the clear political upside of Stefanik's embrace of Trump, who has continued to claim the 2020 election was rigged against him or even stolen, has opened up obvious lines of attack for Democrats. It also raises questions about whether internal GOP pushback against what Trump is saying, which could serve to keep Stefanik and company talking about Trump," the report continues.
According to one GOP consultant, "They'll need to be very savvy in how they deal with this. The press will try to bait them into talking about Trump as much as Liz Cheney, just from the opposite direction."
Another GOP consultant was more candid about his fears.
"Democrats want the 2022 elections to be about Trump," he explained before lamenting. "We don't, or at least shouldn't."
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Nevada lawmakers under fire for blowing $2,500 on membership in far-right extremist group
May 15, 2021
According to The Daily Beast, Lander County, Nevada is under fire for purchasing a $2,500 lifetime membership for the county in an extremist group that has ties to the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
"A former mining boom community in the Nevada desert, Lander County is the rural home to fewer than 10,000 residents," reported Kelly Weill. "But after a 4-1 vote by its board of commissioners, it's the first in the nation with a dubious distinction: Lander will become a county-level member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a right-wing group that promotes sheriffs as the last bastion of freedom and safety in Joe Biden's America."
According to the report, the membership will give residents lapel pins, a plaque, and a celebration event featuring Simone Gold, "a hydroxychloroquine-hyping doctor who is currently facing charges for allegedly entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot." Gold, who practices in California, was caught on video inside the Capitol during the attack.
CPSOA also has ties to Joe Arpaio, the infamous former Maricopa County sheriff who kept prisoners in scorching hot desert tent camps and was pardoned by former President Donald Trump from contempt of court charges stemming from racial profiling incidents.
Some residents and county officials are angry about the decision.
"I don't know why the county's joining organizations," said county Democratic Party chair Claudio Cardosa. "That should be left up to individuals, not counties. We've got that much money we can just join associations, right or left?"
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