Republicans need to wake up before they lose the House in November

With midterms quickly approaching, 2018 generic congressional numbers indicate that Republicans should be concerned this November. Despite successfully passing tax reform, President Trump’s rhetoric and behavior have been Republicans most significant challenge. With each step forward, there have been several steps back, forcing GOP insiders to become alarmed about Republican odds this November.

Though the numbers have fluctuated, most indicators point to a midterm that will be competitive for both Republicans and Democrats, with both parties investing tens of millions of dollars and going to great lengths for victory. While it’s still early, Real Clear Politics shows 45.9 percent of voters favoring Democrats compared 36.6 percent for Republicans, giving Democrats an edge of more than nine points.

{mosads}Despite the health of the economy, which should be good news for Republicans, the president’s declining approval numbers continue to hurt the party, leaving many in Republican circles exacerbated by the administration.

As Republicans attempt to cling to power and Democrats seek to take it, the GOP must be concerned about the ongoing special counsel investigation, which has been a dark cloud over the White House. As Robert Mueller goes on with no end in sight, it’s a waiting game, leaving many holding their breath wondering who is next to be indicted and whether or not it will be a current White House official. It’s a waiting game that has everyone on the edge of their seat.

When you couple the Mueller investigation with the president’s frequent outbursts on Twitter and the various scandals from within the White House and the various agencies headed by his cabinet secretaries, it is obvious that chaos has touched nearly every aspect of government and its institutions. With key voters such as Independents being turned off and minorities being emboldened to become more active participants in the political process, this could be a combination too difficult for Republicans to overcome.

If Republicans lose the House in November, will it be a wake-up call? Will they finally begin to question some of the president’s actions and words or will they continue to go along out of fear of one of his Twitter attacks? As a conservative, I certainly want Republicans to do well, but at some point, reality will hit home, and when it does, it should come as no surprise.

If Republicans do lose the House to Democrats, there is no guarantee that the party will be willing to look in the mirror, and even if it does, there’s no guarantee that the GOP will follow through with an assessment. Remember the Growth and Opportunity Project? It was the autopsy produced by the Republican National Committee after Mitt Romney lost to President Obama, in which the GOP stated that it needed to do a better job of expanding to target new voters.

“Public perception of the party is at record lows. Young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the party represents, and many minorities wrongly think that Republicans do not like them or want them in the country. When someone rolls their eyes at us, they are not likely to open their ears to us,” the report reads.

That was just five years ago, but despite those promises and recognition of what is necessary for the GOP to stay competitive in the future, they have stepped away from those goals to embrace everything that is antithetical to their own research and data.

With this type of hypocrisy, can there be an expectation that Republicans wake up if they lose the House? Maybe, but maybe not. Either way, there is a lot of anger and resentment from a lot of marginalized people as a result of the political climate, and if the numbers are any indication of things to come, it’s not looking good for Republicans.

Shermichael Singleton is a political commentator and a Republican political strategist who has worked on the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and Ben Carson. Follow him on Twitter @Shermichael_.