A series of electoral setbacks shakes the Republicans

(Washington) The election of a Democrat on Saturday to the Texas legislature could have gone unnoticed. But his clear victory in a constituency largely won by Donald Trump in 2024 alarms the Republicans a few months before the mid-term elections.

Ahead of the vote, the tenant of the White House had tried on Truth Social to avoid a bitter setback for the Republican candidate Leigh Wambsganss by giving her his “complete and total support” against Taylor Rehmet.

In vain: between the November 2024 presidential election and Saturday’s election, this constituency covering certain suburbs of the Fort Worth metropolis shifted more than 30 points from right to left.

The Republican president then tried to distance himself: “I am not involved in that. This is a local election in Texas,” he said once the results were known.

Words that contrast with those of Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and one time rival of Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election.

“A shift of this order of magnitude cannot be ignored,” the conservative elected official declared on X, calling on Republicans to be “lucid about the political environment as the midterm elections approach.”

Because in November, the tenuous majority that Donald Trump has in Congress will be put into play. The outcome of the legislative vote will depend on the continuation of the Republican billionaire’s second term.

” Opportunity ”

For Julian Zelizer, professor of political history at Princeton University, the vote in Texas is “certainly a wake-up call” for Republicans.

This comes on top of other worrying electoral results.

In Minnesota, in two strongholds that are certainly already anchored on the left, the Democratic candidates won more than 95% of the votes at the end of January.

In Tennessee, a partial legislative election in December saw the Republican candidate’s margin of victory drop by more than 12 points compared to November 2024.

In Virginia, Democrats easily took back the governor’s seat from the right last fall.

These setbacks, coupled with Donald Trump’s plummeting popularity rating, suggest that Democrats have a “real opportunity” in November, even in some traditionally Republican states, estimates Julian Zelizer for AFP.

Especially since the president is not particularly renowned for his ability to question himself and “correct the course,” he adds.

According to the professor, Americans are turning away from the Republican because the cost of living remains high despite his campaign promises and because he seems to focus on foreign policy and personal projects, such as building a pharaonic ballroom at the White House.

” Lie ”

On the right, criticism is still generally made in veiled words, but some now dare to speak out against the tutelary figure of the “MAGA” movement.

“I think people realize that it was all a lie,” Marjorie Taylor Greene said recently. The one who was among the first followers of Donald Trump has become one of his biggest detractors due to the billionaire’s inability, according to her, to put “America first”.

“Those that MAGA truly serves in this government are their big donors,” said the now ex-Republican parliamentarian at the end of January during an interview with podcaster Kim Iversen.

Donald Trump seems well aware of the risks of losing his room for maneuver in November, he who warns that if the Democrats take back Congress, they will endeavor to quickly launch an impeachment procedure.

He called on Monday for the federal state to take control of the electoral process in around fifteen states, a measure contrary to the Constitution and which worries civil rights associations.

A rare positive note on the right in recent times, the Republican Party has more than 95 million dollars in its coffers before the midterm campaign, compared to only 14 million for the Democratic Party.