'The math simply doesn't work': Former GOP Rep. says Republicans are 'losing the suburbs' thanks to Trump

In an op-ed published at CNN this Tuesday, former GOP Rep. Charlie Dent (PA) argued that "the suburbs are nearly completely gone for the Republican Party," thanks to recent pivotal state elections.

According to Dent, Republicans performed "very well in the suburbs and dominated rural areas" in Pennsylvania when he was elected almost 20 years ago. But since the 2016 election, "we have witnessed an acceleration and the culmination of the Democratic dominance, takeover and sweep of the populous suburban collar counties of Philadelphia," he writes.

Dent goes on to contend that GOP losses in the Philadelphia suburbs on Tuesday "were every bit as devastating as the Republican losses in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, and Richmond, or the Kentucky suburbs of Lexington, Louisville and Cincinnati."

If Republicans are hoping that gains in rural areas will temper the losses in the suburbs, they shouldn't hold their breath -- "the math simply doesn't work."

"Yes, the rural areas of Pennsylvania, and America more broadly, are becoming more Republican and red while the suburbs are becoming more blue and Democratic," Dent writes. "But it's better to grow and win in areas where the population is increasing rather than in areas of population stagnation or decline, and that is the key Democratic advantage heading into 2020."

Read Dent's full op-ed over at CNN.