Voters and Republican operatives alike have named former president Donald Trump “the biggest loser” of the midterms, The Hill reported Tuesday, citing a newly released Harvard CAPS/Harris poll.
The survey asked voters to rate the winners and losers of the 2022 midterms. A majority of voters said Trump was the clear loser after the Nov. 8 election, while 14 percent said MAGA Republicans were and 12 percent pointed to mainstream Republicans. Additionally, 15 percent said Democrats were the biggest losers.
The findings come after a number of Trump’s endorsed candidates lost up and down the ballot earlier this month, raising questions about Trump’s strength heading into 2024. The result is also indicative that Trump’s grip on the party is weakening.
“Trump emerges from the election a far weaker candidate for reelection than before the midterms,” said Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll. “He remains under water in his personal rating of 44 percent, is seen as having backed losing candidates and now has the possibility of having to fight a real primary in the Republican parties as he drops below 50% in a Republican primary. That’s why voters see him as the biggest loser.”
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And some Republican strategists and operatives agree.
“I do think that Trump was absolutely the biggest loser last Tuesday,” said Brian Seitchik, an Arizona-based GOP strategist who is a Trump campaign alum.
“The policies of Donald Trump were a win, but when the rubber hit the road and Donald Trump reemerged and start handpicking candidates, some of whom were grossly underqualified, I think people were calling it ‘oh yeah, the chaos. I can’t take any more of this s–t,’” Seitchik said.
Seitchik argued that many of his handpicked candidates may have been a driving force for voters to come out and vote against Republicans even more so than the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
