Retiring GOP senator blames Trump for midterm 'debacle'
Retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey blamed Donald Trump for some of his handpicked candidates and predicted the former president would continue to lose influence in the Republican Party.
Toomey was interviewed by The Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday about the midterm results after Democrat John Fetterman beat Republican Mehmet Oz in the Senate race.
“Last night across the country was a terrible night for Donald Trump, and an excellent night for Governor DeSantis,” Toomey said.
“The more MAGA a candidate was, the more they tended to underperform even in their own states," he argued.
Toomey served two terms in the U.S. Senate and three terms in the House of Representatives.
"Toomey praised one Trump-endorsed nominee, Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz," the newspaper reported. "But he pointed to several other Trump picks who struggled. Georgia Senate nominee Herschel Walker, for example, was locked in a neck-and-neck race while Gov. Brian Kemp coasted to victory, he pointed out. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine won by more than 25 percentage points, as Trump’s handpicked Senate candidate in Ohio, J.D. Vance, slogged to a victory by a little more than 6 points, forcing the GOP to expend resources in a relatively red state."
Toomey also weighed in on the state's gubernatorial campaign.
“The party needs to recognize the facts on the ground. Like I said, when the primary criteria is allegiance to Donald Trump, the outcomes weren’t very good,” Toomey said. “Mastriano’s loss was on an epic scale, and it is very hard for down-ballot candidates to overcome that."
Read the full report.
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