House Republican leaders are now bullishly predicting they will grow their majority in the 2024 elections, contending former President Donald Trump will be an asset in swing suburban districts that voted for President Joe Biden four years ago.
For much of the past year, GOP prospects of keeping the House appeared to be dim, especially given the constant internal feuding that led to the unprecedented ouster of a sitting speaker and their inability to advance a legislative agenda.
But the outcome of key primaries and redistricting fights in several states – along with a handful of Democratic retirements in swing districts and Biden’s persistently low approval ratings – have given Republicans new hope they can hang on despite what once seemed to be extremely grim odds.
And above all else, some top Republicans argue Trump will be a boost in the battle for the 17 GOP seats in districts that Biden carried in 2020 – even as he faces 91 criminal charges and consistently struggles with key suburban voters who will determine the outcome of the country’s most critical races.
“Well, right now he’s popular everywhere,” Rep. Richard Hudson, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the House GOP’s campaign arm, told CNN when asked about Trump’s impact in districts Biden carried four years ago. “He’s won in every battleground state. And I think the turnout models are much different in a presidential election year for us. Brings out a lot of voters that don’t vote in the midterms. And so I think it’s a net positive.”
Even if Trump is convicted of a felony, Hudson predicted it wouldn’t “have an impact” on his candidates in swing districts. And he said he would encourage them to stump with Trump.
“Each candidate can make up their own mind, what they want to…
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