Republicans in battleground states experience a sharp decline in the Trump era: ‘Everything has plummeted’

The Decline of GOP State Parties Raises Concerns for 2024 Election

As the Republican Party struggles to regain its footing after the Trump era, state GOP parties across the country are facing a crisis of their own. Financial woes, infighting, and a lack of support from wealthy donors have left many of these state parties in disarray, raising concerns about their ability to compete in the upcoming 2024 election.

“It shouldn’t surprise anybody that real people with real money — the big donors who have historically funded the party apparatus — don’t want to invest in these clowns who have taken over and subsumed the Republican Party,” said Jeff Timmer, former executive director of the Michigan GOP and senior adviser to the anti-Trump Lincoln Project.

Among some state GOP officials, the mood is grim. The Michigan Republican Party, for example, is described as being in a state of disarray. An anonymous Michigan Republican operative stated, “They’re just in as bad a place as a political party can be. They’re broke…Their chair can’t even admit she lost a race. It’s defunct.”

The decline of GOP state parties could have a profound impact on the 2024 election. Traditionally, state parties are responsible for crucial tasks like get-out-the-vote programs and building data in municipal elections. Weakened state parties in key battleground states could leave the Republican Party vulnerable, especially as Democrats focus more on state legislative races.

However, not all Republicans are concerned about the state parties’ decline. Some argue that in the age of super PACs, state parties have become relics of the past. According to a national Republican operative who works on Senate races, “In this modern Super PAC era, the state parties just don’t really matter… At the end of the day, the Michigan GOP being a train wreck is not going to have any real impact on whether or not we win Michigan.”

Despite this perspective, weak state parties could still have damaging effects in lower-profile state races. Democrats, seizing the opportunity, are doubling their efforts to win back state legislatures. Jessica Post, a spokesperson for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, stated, “It means Republicans have enormous missed opportunities for early organizing and investing in a strong ground game.”

Some state parties have received assistance from national Republicans in an attempt to address their financial struggles. For example, the Minnesota State Party received a $160,000 transfer from Protect the House 2024, a fundraising committee backed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Other critical state parties, including Pennsylvania, California, and New York, also received six-figure checks from McCarthy’s fundraising operation.

The situation in Michigan serves as a microcosm of the current state of GOP state parties. Infighting between party leaders, physical altercations at party meetings, and a lack of funds have left the Michigan GOP in shambles. Jason Watts, a former local party leader, described the state party as reduced to “basically” a “UPS Store P.O. box and an email blast account.”

Similar situations are occurring in other states as well. The Pennsylvania state party sold its headquarters last year, raising concerns about its finances. In Colorado, the state GOP didn’t pay a single employee for the first time in 20 years. Massachusetts experienced a hard-right push by a pro-Trump state committee chair that destroyed the state GOP’s ability to recruit mainstream candidates and sent donors fleeing, bankrupting the party.

Despite these challenges, some Republicans believe that a weak state party is not a death sentence for candidates. There are ways to operate around the state party if necessary, as demonstrated by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who built his own outside apparatus for his successful reelection bid.

However, the decline of GOP state parties raises serious concerns about the party’s ability to compete in the 2024 election. As Democrats focus on state legislative races and build their ground game, weakened state parties could leave Republicans at a disadvantage. The party must address these challenges quickly if it hopes to regain its footing and compete effectively in the upcoming election.

Original Story at www.politico.com – 2023-08-02 15:25:03