A pair of House Republicans told Politico they’re longing for their party to get a bloody eye in crucial elections in Florida and Wisconsin Tuesday.
The two, who were not named by the magazine, are longing for bruising defeats — or at least close calls in the Florida votes — as a way to shore up their party's future in the midterms.
“An ‘April 1st massacre’ would be ‘a beautiful thing,’” Politico described one of them as saying.
“There will be 26 or so people watching Tuesday, and they’ll decide how they want to be part of the team going forward,” the Republican said, pointing to his colleagues with the most at-risk seats come the midterms.
The two, along with many others, are sweating that Tuesday’s election could be a major litmus test for the party as the nation reacts to the first months of President Donald Trump’s second term — and the sweeping federal cuts ushered through by billionaire Elon Musk.
“If the Democratic-aligned nominee for a Wisconsin Supreme Court wins and the Republican candidate only narrowly prevails here, a NASCAR capital that’s nobody’s idea of a battleground, GOP lawmakers on the ballot next year will have cause to repeat Trump’s signature line from his show business days: You’re fired,” wrote Politico’s Jonathan Martin from Daytona Beach.
Florida’s two elections are to replace Republicans Mike Waltz, who gave up his seat to become national security adviser, and Matt Gaetz, who quit for an unsuccessful run to be attorney general.
On paper, both seats are guaranteed ruby red GOP heartlands. The fact that the Democrats are now seeing as bringing a strong fight is a major alarm for Republicans.
In Wisconsin, liberal candidate Susan Crawford is taking on Brad Schimel, who has the backing of Trump and Musk, for a Supreme Court seat.
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The results will send a resounding message to Trump — either backing his agenda or demanding a major course correct before the midterms in 2026.
The two Republicans said, at the least, they’re hoping for it to signal the end of Musk’s involvement in the government.
“The GOP lawmakers, this member said, grasp the political damage Musk is doing because ‘the s–t he puts up on the internet’ about government spending or savings ‘is wrong,’ but when it relates to their districts, it gets picked up by both their MAGA base and local media outlets, angering different blocs of voters,” Politico reported.
“The other House Republican, remaining somewhat more restrained, said the White House needs to effectively declare victory and thank Musk for his service. ‘Elon’s work needs to wrap up, and he needs to exit stage left,’ said the lawmaker.”
Coupled with Republican worry for their grasp on Congress is a newfound energy for their opponents, Democrats said.
“We’re seeing a lot of energized Democrats who were very despondent a few months ago,” said Florida activist Charlene Smith.
“The chainsaw approach is really jarring everybody, people are losing their jobs, people are losing benefits they counted on all their lives. It’s frightening, it’s really frightening.”