GOP activists giving up hope on the party's future due to Trump's war: report

Republican Party activists are concerned that Donald Trump's war with Iran will cost the party in the midterm elections and more, a Wall Street Journal report is showing

Representatives and activists fretted over the longer-term impact of the war, with some suggesting voters are already turning on the party. Todd Blodgett, a Republican activist in Iowa, told the Wall Street Journal that there is a "darkening" mood in his state ahead of the midterm elections.

"What optimism I did feel pretty much evaporated with this war,” he said. "President Trump is doing what needs to be done, but the price of fertilizer has doubled in Iowa and gas is up 35% to 40% a gallon." Fellow GOP member David Schweikert (R-AZ) simply said, "It looks dour."

Wisconsin Republicans have also sounded the alarm on the party's future with the Iran war lingering as a major issue for some voters. In Wisconsin, the state GOP’s executive committee is said to be meeting today (April 18) to discuss the leadership of Chairman Brian Schimming after a recent state supreme court loss.

A statement from Schimming, seen by the WSJ reads, "We need to focus on joining together and building our movement to advance victories in November."

Thomas Galvin, a Republican Maricopa County supervisor, has also suggested the GOP is not prepared appropriately ahead of the midterms. He said, "I think everybody would be in agreement that the Republican Party is the underdog this November."

Dade Phelan, a Republican Texas state representative, believes the party could lose enough seats in Texas alone to pave the way to a Democratic Party majority in the House of Representatives.

He told the WSJ that swing voters are more likely to gravitate towards the Democratic Party candidate, James Talarico. "There's definitely a nervous buzz," he said.

Estimates show at least eight Texas state House seats flipping in November, and possibly up to the 14 needed to give the majority to the Democrats.

The MAGA movement too has fractured sharply over Trump's Iran war, with prominent figures breaking ranks to oppose the conflict. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the war a betrayal of MAGA principles while Tucker Carlson challenged GOP leaders on their lack of Iran policy knowledge.