Seismic political change is coming to Washington, D.C., and as Republicans sift through the wreckage that was Election Night, fingers are pointing in several directions over who’s to blame.
The blue tsunami Tuesday tore the GOP’s coalition asunder, flipping the balance of power in both chambers heading into the final two years of the Trump administration. And as Republicans search for where things went awry, GOP operatives and insiders told Fox News Digital that it starts at the top with President Donald Trump.
“Look, first and foremost, this is a Trump loss,” Dan Eberhart, an oil drilling chief executive officer and prominent Republican donor, told Fox News Digital. “He wanted to be — he wanted people to consider him on the ballot. And unfortunately, as a Republican, that’s what we got.”
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In the Senate, Democrats scored seven pickups on Election Night, with outstanding races in Alaska and Mississippi still waiting to be called. And in the House, Democrats roared back into power with 27 pickups and with several races still outstanding.
The Iran war, ignoring the economic hurt squeezing voters, attacking sitting Republicans and more are on the list of grievances from Republicans reeling in the days after.
The Senate map, in particular, was at one point favorable for Republicans and viewed as an uphill battle for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats to put a dent in the GOP’s thin, 53-seat majority.
But Trump’s decision to go on a “primary revenge tour and antagonizing senators,” a GOP aide told Fox News Digital, among several other issues, opened up the field for Democrats to pounce.
Indeed, Trump’s handpicked candidates were pummeled in races that were once safe bets for Republicans.
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His backing of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., and fight with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., last year that ultimately led to his retirement and created an opening for Democrats in the Tar Heel State, proved fatal for the GOP, coupled with stunning losses in Maine, Kansas, Ohio and Iowa, kneecapped any chances Republicans had of keeping power in the upper chamber.
“Trump ignored affordability completely,” another Republican aide told Fox News Digital. “Ousted good members a la Cornyn, Tillis who knew how to win tough races, and poisoned the base’s opinion of our majority with his SAVE Act/filibuster bulls—.”
“We had a great map, and he hijacked [it],” they continued.
In the House, where Democrats are on pace to potentially win upward of 250 seats, Fox News Power Rankings projected that Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran were significant drivers for voting blocs leaving the GOP.
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One House Republican complained that GOP leaders were too focused on “bluster” rather than “doing the job,” though they did not mention Trump by name.
“All the name changes were so unnecessary — Gulf of America, Lake of America, Department of War,” the GOP lawmaker said.
A second House Republican rattled off a lengthy list of shortcomings, including the quality and character of “certain candidates,” Trump’s immigration enforcement, tariffs, general affordability issues, historic midterm headwinds, and “departure from traditional conservatism in favor of populism.”
Meanwhile, people in Trump’s orbit blamed the candidates themselves.
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Trump outside advisor Alex Bruesewitz posted on X that “most Republican candidates this cycle were uninspiring, lazy, and thoroughly ineffective communicators.”
“I’m not all that surprised by some of these outcomes,” he said.
Meanwhile, some are expecting a massive shift in Trump’s base of support in Congress as he heads toward a lame duck likely punctuated by investigations and stalled agendas.
“I think Trump being a lame duck starts today,” Eberhart said. “You know, if I’m up in the [2028] cycle, I’m waking up today, I’m against the arch. I’m against the ballroom. I want space from Trump.”
