A GOP strategist is calling out Republicans for their reactions to the strong Democratic election response Tuesday and telling them to "get their act together!"
Pollster Frank Luntz reacted to GOP Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's (R-LA) comments that off-year elections don't matter for the Republican Party during an interview Wednesday with CNN anchor Brianna Keilar.
"It does matter. And Democrats voted and Republicans did not," Luntz said. "Let's start with turnout motivation. When you've got the presidency, the House, the Senate, you're pretty happy. And so you don't see any reason to participate. When you don't have any of those and you feel like your voice doesn't matter, you're absolutely going to go to the polls. So this is an indication that the Democrats are motivated and are going to get out and do something over the next 12 months."
Luntz also focused on California's Proposition 50, saying "that California initiative is such a big deal" and could bring five more seats to the Golden State.
"That could very well make the difference in the majority one year from now," Luntz said. "And it completely blunts everything that Texas did to redraw the lines."
Luntz also emphasized how affordability — health care, food, living expenses — were top of mind for voters. It's what sent people to vote in droves, he explained.
"...It is very clear... and it's not inflation, it's affordability. It's very clear that the public's challenge, that affordability in housing, health care, food and fuel, is essential in this election, in this environment. And the public is voting for candidates that they think will make life more affordable," he said.
Keilar pointed to how the Democratic candidates in races in Virginia and New Jersey, with newly elected Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill, are considered more moderate compared to the newly elected Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani — but that their messages were similar. They all focused on affordability.
"The president made promises. Now he has to keep them," Luntz said. "And so the prices of bread, the prices of milk, the price of an automobile and a home, and finally, the price of health care really does matter to the average voter. And the Democrats have started to discover that, that their silence a year ago hurt them. And now they're boasting of what they're going to do to make everything more affordable, particularly New York City. Those are pretty big promises to make. They're going to have a challenge to keep them, but make no mistake, how much you pay at the cash register is going to determine who you vote for in these elections."
Trump has admitted it wasn't a good election cycle for Republicans. He's blamed his own party and argued he wants to get rid of the filibuster. Despite that he wasn't on the ballot, it was a referendum on how Americans are feeling, Luntz explained.
"To some degree, yes. He wasn't on the ballot. His people did not find a reason, a need to come take the time to vote, to invest that time and effort. But that said, both sides are being hurt by the shutdown. And we've talked about it on the show before," Luntz said.
"The public doesn't care who's responsible. Just open up the gosh darn government. And I'm using really controlled language right now and they don't use control language in the focus groups. I can repeat to you what the American people say, we cannot air this on CNN, but the people in Washington who watch this program need to understand that the public is fed up with this, and the idea that people will not get food stamps, that our men and women in uniform will not get paid, that the civilians who work for the Defense Department haven't been paid for weeks, air traffic controllers and the list goes on and on," he added.
"The public has had enough of this. Get your act together. Do your job. Come together. Compromise and move everything forward. And make no mistake, they will punish both sides if they don't get their act together over the coming days."
