Some Republican operatives worry that President Donald Trump’s recent immigration crusade, while red meat to his base, is alienating suburban women and other swing voters crucial to the GOP retaining control of the House.
According to a Thursday Politico report, many wish he would focus on the economy, an issue less likely to provoke backlash and mobilization from Democrats or undecided voters.
“The kind of voters Trump is talking to right now, there aren’t enough of them in these areas to get us over the finish line,” a GOP campaign official told Politico. “We understand this is an issue that motivates his base, but the economic issues are what we really need to win these swing voters because they are who’s going to decide who controls the House,” adding that Trump “is solidifying swing voters who were already leaning Democratic and are now definitely going vote for Democratic candidates.”
Democrats, meanwhile, are salivating over the likelihood that Trump’s hardline rhetoric will drive Latinos to the poll, a group whose high turnout could mean chamber control for Democrats.
