Quality control: How House Republicans are trying to avoid another disaster in 2024
Ryan King
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Republicans are working behind the scenes to make sure the same problems with “candidate quality” do not doom them in 2024, as they did in 2022.
Party officials are reportedly putting together strategies to beef up recruitment efforts and funnel resources to top-tier candidates during primaries to make sure the highest quality hopefuls have a chance.
“Candidate quality matters,” New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu declared at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual meeting last month. “Holy cow, have we learned that one the tough way.”
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One path forward is to find well-known nominees in critical districts. This could involve efforts to recruit House candidates such as Tiffany Smiley and Joe O’Dea, who lost their Senate races in Washington and Colorado, respectively, but are recognized figures with a considerable network of donors, Politico reported. Another figure could be Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), who lost a primary to mount a comeback bid after Trump-backed Joe Kent defeated her in the primary only to lose in the general election.
The GOP had entered the midterm elections as the clear favorite, only to be stunned on election night as the party racked up a slew of losses in House races. It managed to squeak to a roughly five-seat majority in the House and lost the Senate.
Strategists immediately flagged candidate quality as a serious handicap, with even Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel conceding that split-ticket voting hurt the party.
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Even in some races that Republicans won, such as Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-CO) race against Democrat Adam Frisch, the margins rang in much tighter than expected. Anemic performances in places such as Colorado and New Hampshire were contrasted with bright spots in New York, in which the party made surprising gains amid favorable redistricting and candidates hailed by party insiders as strong.
“Candidates really are important and I think more than ever 2022 showed that,” Sarah Chamberlain, president of Republican Main Street Partnership, explained, Politico reported. “So our lesson going into 2024 is: Recruit the right candidates for the right seats.”