Despite Trump not being on the ballot in the 2022 Midterm Elections, he still looms large as the face of the Republican Party. According to a New York Times investigation, about 70% of GOP candidates running for Congress have questioned Joe Biden’s legitimacy. Despite not living in the White House anymore, Trump still dominates political coverage, especially recently with the January 6 hearings.
According to John Garris, per POLITICO:
“In historical terms, Trump is a larger figure than ever. Far from loosening, his claim on national attention is as urgent as ever. Far from fading into irrelevance, Trump is now positioned to be among the most consequential presidents of his era. This is largely on the strength of what looks to be the most consequential EX-presidency in American history.
“The usual journalistic crutch when assessing political legacies is ‘for better or worse,’ but in this case it is only for worse. Trump’s historic significance flows from how effectively he has made people doubt what was previously beyond doubt — that American democracy is on the level — and how brilliantly he has illuminated just how much this generation of Americans looks at one another with mutual contempt and mutual incomprehension.
“Here is the great paradox of the Jan. 6 panel. Its inquiry has systematically dismantled Trump’s deceptions and denialism surrounding the 2020 election. At the same time, it has helped build Trump into something much larger than he appeared two years ago. He is a political leader too serious to forget.”
The publication notes, “But even if he didn’t appear in a single ad — and there are plenty that include him — Trump still looms over everything in politics.”
Many Trump-endorsed candidates in tough races are ahead in the polls, including Kari Lake, running got Arizona governor, former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, running for U.S. Senate in Nevada, among many others. Now, as November 8th — Election Day — fast approaches, voters will decide whether the GOP flips the U.S. House and Senate and takes back control in governorship races across the country.
