Conservative columnist: Republicans 'concerned about their survival' as long as Trump is president

On Monday, Republican Martha McSally conceded defeat to Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona's U.S. Senate race, declining to challenge the results of the close contest.

Writing in the Washington Post, conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin pointed to Sinema's victory as yet another bad sign for Republicans aligned with Donald Trump.

"The race was notable on multiple levels,' Rubin writes. "First, what was a reliable red state is now very much in play for Democrats in 2020."

She also pointed to McSally's graceful concession as a win for civility and democratic norms. "Second, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s conduct in casting doubt on the vote-counting process was reprehensible, Ducey, Cindy McCain and McSally behaved appropriately, refusing to join in the anti-democratic process of delegitimizing elections that don’t go their way."

She points out that the midterms brought more bad news for Republicans linked to Trump.

"Third, the Democrats’ win reveals just how miserably Republicans performed in a year in which Democrats held on to or flipped Senate seats in seven states that Trump won in 2016 (Montana, Arizona, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania)."

In even more bad news for Trump Republicans, "The Post reports, “McSally lost the race after abandoning the moderate profile she had nurtured in her 2014 congressional race and allying herself with Trump," Rubin noted.

"The lesson here for Republicans should be that unless you are in deep-red states, waving the bloody flag on immigration is a loser," Rubin writes.

The demographics are also not in their favor. "Fifth, exits polls in the race showed Sinema hung on to a high percentage of white voters (44 percent) and won big with Hispanics (69 percent), white college graduates (53 percent), white college-educated women (55 percent), voters 18 to 44 years old (59 percent), and voters who ranked health care as the most important issue (77 percent)."

In conclusion, Rubin notes, Republicans should think twice about following Donald Trump's lead.

"In sum, a week after the midterms, the Democrats’ wins look more impressive — and the GOP looks more like a party in decline. Republicans outside the Deep South should be concerned about their survival so long as Trump is president."