Republicans could snatch victory in the midterms that many say would be a surprise if they convince their base to vote “one more time” for President Trump to keep Democrats from deep-sixing the MAGA agenda, said Club for Growth President David McIntosh.
Mr. Trump has gotten more involved than usual in the upcoming midterms, declaring his intent to campaign as if it were a presidential election year and holding regular rallies to boost roughly 200 candidates he’s endorsed.
“I think Republicans have to show Republican voters that it’s worth coming out to vote,” said Mr. McIntosh, a former Indiana congressman.
He said the combination of Mr. Trump’s involvement and the GOP spending money on candidates boosts the party’s chances of maintaining control of Congress in November.
Mr. McIntosh illustrated his winning strategy at a Wednesday night media briefing in Washington by screening an ad describing Texas Democrat James Talarico as a “woke weirdo for Senate.”
A Republican group affiliated with the Club for Growth released the viral ad online to boost Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s chance of winning the U.S. Senate race against Mr. Talarico.
It includes clips of the Democratic nominee touting his office’s use of gender pronouns on business cards, declaring that there are six “biological sexes,” describing his candidacy as a “nonmeat campaign” and professing his belief that “God is nonbinary.”
Mr. Talarico embraced the weird label at a general campaign kickoff rally in Houston last month.
“I also saw that Ken Paxton started calling me ‘Talafreako,’ and I am proud to announce that we have ‘I’m a Talafreako’ T-shirts on our website,” he said. “So, when you go home tonight, make sure you grab one.”
The Cook Political Report says the race “leans Republican.”
According to Mr. McIntosh, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaigning and the “tribalism” of the GOP’s base to support Mr. Paxton on the president’s behalf should be enough to put Republicans over the top.
“I think the way [Mr. Paxton] runs is to talk about how this is a choice between who controls the Senate and lay out the contrasts,” Mr. McIntosh said Wednesday.
Nationwide, the Club for Growth is investing $150 million in ads to support Republican candidates in the midterms.
Mr. McIntosh said Republicans’ edge in state redistricting battles and ads painting Democrats as radicals could be enough for them to keep the House — and he said most Senate races favor the GOP.
The danger is that Mr. Trump’s base will sit out a nonpresidential election cycle, he warned.
“The key will be pointing out that [the Democrats’] solutions will be worse for you than where you are today,” Mr. McIntosh added.
