‘This is historic’: Ex-GOP lawmaker says Republicans barreling toward ‘complete disaster’

Former GOP congressman David Jolly painted a bleak picture for Republicans heading into the 2026 midterm elections during an appearance Sunday on MS NOW, warning that his former party was “heading toward complete disaster” of a “historic” electoral defeat.

“A year is a very long time, things could be very different next year, but where we sit today, Republicans are heading toward a complete disaster, a collapse, a 2006-type blue wave or the inverse of the 1994 red wave,” Jolly said. “I mean, this is historic, and there's a very fundamental reason why.”

Republicans face an uphill battle heading into the midterm elections, with recent analyses showing the GOP well “on track to lose” its congressional majorities. President Donald Trump’s own plummeting approval ratings – which this month reached lows rivaling “the lowest readings from his first term” – have played a significant role in dragging the entire party down, experts have said.

Specifically, Jolly said that while the policies pushed by the Trump administration and GOP lawmakers have been “incredibly ineffective,” what really hurt Republicans’ electoral chances next year was their rhetoric.

“Voters are telling us and they're telling Republicans what their problems are; Donald Trump and the Republicans are telling voters they're wrong,” Jolly said.

“If they just will support a man who wants marble armrests at the Kennedy Center, a gilded White House and a new ballroom so that he can throw parties with world leaders, if [voters] will just support him and those endeavors, their lives will be better? Republicans are heading toward disaster, and right now, they deserve it.”

Jolly was a Republican congressman representing Florida from 2014 to 2017 before leaving office, and later, leaving the Republican Party. Long an outspoken critic of Trump, Jolly registered as a Democrat earlier this year in his bid for Florida governor.