Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York said there were some promising events leading up to the midterm elections that could help Republicans regain their footing, including the public outrage regarding a controversial influencer and the tactics of the Republican midterm convention.
“Hasan Piker’s vow that he will not be silent is really really good news for Republicans,” York said Tuesday on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle.
Piker, a popular Twitch streamer, was seen campaigning with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed leading up to the primaries. El Sayed faced heat after Piker’s controversial comments resurfaced, including that “America deserved 9/11” and alluding to a threat of violence against American Jews.
El Sayed has deflected any questions about his former campaign partner, making a statement condemning violence but not Piker.
York said he believed it was also good news for GOP candidates that the GOP convention is taking place in Dallas. The Senate race between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee, and Democrat James Talarico could be one of the most important races, York said.
“The Texas race, the Talarico-Paxton race, offers the starkest contrast between the Left and the Right,” York said. “That’s the case that Republicans want to make, I mean, their major case is, ‘Look, maybe you have problems with us, but the Democrats are crazy.’”
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York said the races in Michigan and Texas have the greatest wiggle room to appeal to voters, especially those already set in their opinions on President Donald Trump and the state of the economy. While voters may not like either candidate, they are ultimately trying to decide “which is the worst,” York said.
“I think the big worry for Republicans is that the cake is already baked,” York said. “Voter attitudes have already hardened. … The way that there’s a lot of room, where voters are still deciding, is in these individual battles, Talarico vs. Paxton, Rogers vs. el Sayed.”