GOP consultants worry Stefanik will help Trump cripple their 2022 election hopes: report

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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