Republican lawmakers’ decision to sell their party out to Donald Trump, a loser president who cost them the House, Senate, and White House, is looking worse and worse every day. Across the country, voters in critical swing states are rejecting the chaos from Trump and the GOP playbook in favor of calm and stable leadership from President Biden and Democrats.

Politico Magazine: “‘As Long as the Party Embraces Trump, It’s Going to Have Trouble’”

• “It’s the story of how the GOP playbook—which often defaults to the tactic of demonizing cities as bastions of out-of-touch liberal elites—has missed an important shift: Suburbs aren’t at war with their cities any longer, and claiming they are has alienated potential Republican voters.”
• “It’s the story of a Republican Party in something of an identity crisis; of downballot Republicans who have found success while embracing diversity and are utterly flummoxed why the rest of the party is moving in the other direction; of the once-in-a-generation talent named L. Brooks Patterson, who made Oakland County into a Republican political behemoth first by perfecting the art of culture war, and later by trading away grievance-based politics for business-oriented conservatism only to see that traditional approach banished from the Trump-era GOP.”

NBC News: “GOP candidates’ acts of loyalty to Trump underscore ex-president’s grip on the party”

• “Another way to look at all of it: When a party no longer offers a new party platform or new public-policy ideas, the way for its politicians to distinguish themselves is through symbols, gestures, performance art and — above all — loyalty to the former president. Even seven months after that former president’s defeat and five months after Jan. 6.”

NBC News: “Trump’s influence on Republicans faces key test in Michigan”

• “Early dynamics shaping the Republican primary highlight the tensions playing out in other states and high-stakes contests across the country. Would-be candidates for governor are proceeding with caution as they calculate how far, if at all, they can stray from Trump, his mixed pandemic messaging and his incessant lie that a second term was stolen from him.”

Politico: “Chaotic N.C. Senate primary tests Trump’s sway over the GOP”

• “Trump’s surprise intervention has been the foremost drama so far, creating sore feelings among his party’s candidates and causing dissension among North Carolina Republicans.”
• “If Republicans nominate a weaker general election candidate in a single state like North Carolina, they could end up blowing their shot at taking back the Senate.”