David Drucker of the Washington Examiner reports on a key element of Republicans’ midterm election strategy.
Senior Republican strategists want their candidates to get the message loud and clear: To survive the midterm elections, run against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
To get their point across, the super PAC aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Congressional Leadership Fund, commissioned a post-special election poll in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, barely won by Republican Troy Balderson. The survey showed Pelosi to have a 61 percent unfavorable rating, a sentiment CLF pollster Gene Ulm said is consistent across the suburban districts that could tip the House to the Democrats.
“Some in the media have attempted to say that Nancy Pelosi is not a useful lighting rod for GOP campaigns to tie their opponent to, but the survey data will show how divisive Pelosi can be,” Ulm wrote in a polling memo for CLF that was shared with the Washington Examiner. …
… “Democratic candidates are going to be bludgeoned with Nancy Pelosi and everything she says and does,” Ulm said in an interview. …
… Ulm rejected Democratic counter-arguments that Trump would be a bigger drag on Republicans than Pelosi is on the Democrats. His post-election survey in Ohio’s 12 District showed the president with a 50 percent favorable rating, while specifically among Balderson voters, Pelosi clocked in a 94 percent personally unfavorable.
