Republicans need to rebrand and “build something new” after failing to retake a Senate majority or meet general expectations in the 2022 midterm elections, according to one of the party’s younger members.
On Saturday, shortly after Democrats won a key victory in Nevada, where incumbent Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley declared the Republican Party “dead.”
“The old party is dead. Time to bury it. Build something new,” Hawley wrote.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Dem Sen. Ed Markey Grills Twitter After Reporter Verified Account Impersonate Him
The 42-year-old Missouri Republican is part of a younger generation of Senate Republicans who have expressed reservations about, or outright opposition to, current Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, 82.
Hawley has been outspoken in his criticism of the Republican Party following their defeats in Pennsylvania, where Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz fell short of defeating Senator-elect John Fetterman, and Arizona, where Sen. Mark Kelly defeated Republican candidate Blake Masters.
“You can’t expect independent voters to vote Republican unless you give them an agenda they care about,” Hawley added in a tweet on Friday.
The day before, Hawley claimed that the Republican machine “lost big” in the midterm elections and that the American people did not support their legislative priorities.
“Washington Republicanism lost big Tuesday night. When your ‘agenda’ is cave to Big Pharma on insulin, cave to Schumer on gun control & Green New Deal (‘infrastructure’), and tease changes to Social Security and Medicare, you lose,” he wrote.
He also claimed that Republicans failed to present their own ideas and initiatives to voters, instead focusing on the Democratic Party’s shortcomings. “Not enough to say the other side is no good. Have to offer an actual agenda,” he wrote.
Hawley was also among a group of Republicans, including Sens. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rick Scott, and Cynthia Lummis, who urged the Senate to delay the leadership election until after the Georgia runoff election between Republican Hershall Walker and Democrat Raphael Warnock.
“The Senate GOP leadership vote next week should be postponed,” Rubio tweeted.
He added, “First we need to make sure that those who want to lead us are genuinely committed to fighting for the priorities & values of the working Americans (of every background) who gave us big wins in states like Florida.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Tiffany Trump And Michael Boulos Married In Lavish Florida Ceremony
Hawley agreed by writing, “Exactly right. I don’t know why Senate GOP would hold a leadership vote for the next Congress before this election is finished. We have a runoff in #GASenate – are they saying that doesn’t matter? Don’t disenfranchise.”
Following the election results on Tuesday, several other Republicans, most notably former President Donald Trump, expressed dissatisfaction with McConnell. “He is the WORST!” Trump wrote on social media.
