The Republican National Committee plans to take a closer look at what role former President Donald Trump played in the party’s disappointing 2022 midterm results as part of its audit of the GOP’s performance.
«Looking at President Trump, what has he done right? And what has he done wrong? And how do we learn from that to win elections in the future?» Henry Barbour, a Mississippi RNC committee member who was tasked in November with co-writing the RNC’s post-election review, in an interview Wednesday.
«So I think we’re going to work through all of those various issues and dynamics to hopefully come up with our recommendations that will put the party in a much stronger position to win going forward,» he added.
Barbour said his review seeks to «get into the weeds» on everything from Trump to turnout to the ticket division. He hopes the analysis will provide answers as to why the party lost several critical races during a cycle in which it was expected to make big gains, while also offering recommendations on the best way forward.
«What we intend to do is get into the weeds, have data to confirm or certainly to give weight to the assessments we make,» he said. «This has to be a sincere effort. We can’t overlook things. Or it just isn’t worth doing.»
RNC President Ronna McDaniel announced the review in late November and selected Barbour, the nephew of former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, and Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump attorney and California RNC committee member. Barbour also co-authored the so-called autopsy that followed Republican Mitt Romney’s presidential defeat in 2012.
Dhillon has since announced a challenge to McDaniel for party chairmanship, but Barbour said he is still on the team overseeing the post-election audit. Jane Brady, chair of the Delaware Republican Party, and kim borchersKansas NCR committee member, were recently added as co-chairs of the effort, in which more than three dozen additional RNC members will have input.
Barbour said there is no set timetable for issuing a report, but the group has «a real sense of urgency.» The exam will be brought forward at the NCR winter meetings at the end of the month, she added.
«We’re just getting started; that’s the reality,» he said. But he noted that in initial conversations with candidates, consultants and campaign managers, he heard dismay at the quality of the candidates and a general miscalculation about how the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would land on key battlegrounds.
Trump himself recently blamed the party’s midterm shortcomings on anti-abortion activists and hardliners, as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
«It wasn’t my fault that the Republicans fell short of expectations in the midterms,» Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Sunday. «It was 233-20! It was the ‘abortion issue,’ mishandled by many Republicans, especially those who steadfastly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of Rape, Incest or Mother’s Life, which lost a large number of Voters.»
Trump’s endorsement record was bolstered by a large number of races in safe Republican districts where the Republican faced few threats. In the key swing states that President Joe Biden won in 2020, Trump-backed candidates lost nearly every race for Senate, governor, and secretary of state.
«Also, the people who lobbied so hard, for decades, against abortion, got their wish from the US Supreme Court, and just disappeared, never to be seen again. Also, Mitch stupid $’s! !» he added, referring to McConnell, a frequent target of Trump’s wrath after the 2020 election.
Barbour said it’s important that the RNC take lessons from the post-2012 autopsy effort and apply them to the ongoing review. That audit, which culminated in the 2013 report called «Growth and Opportunity Project”, urged Republicans to soften their stance on immigration and take a more broadly inclusive stance. The suggestions were largely dismissed during the subsequent presidential campaign.
McDaniel faces challenges and backlash to his leadership after the midterms, though most RNC members have come out publicly in favor of extending his term for another term.
By his own assessment, Barbour saw a clear demarcation line between candidates who were focused on the future and those who were «stuck in the past» when it came time to win in November.
«We have to figure out what our plan is to make America a better place,» he said. «And how did we win and how did we come together?»