Can New Voters Save GOP Senators?
There’s good reason that even conservatives who harbor grave doubts about Donald Trump’s candidacy – as I do – should hope that he runs the most vigorous possible campaign.
The ferocious energy of Mr. Trump’s campaign will no doubt bring many angry Americans to the polls, some of them for the first time. Though their loyalty primarily focuses on Trump himself, not the party, those voters who actually show up at the polls will be much more likely to back embattled GOP candidates like Portman in Ohio, Ayotte in New Hampshire, Johnson in Wisconsin and Toomey in Pennsylvania, rather than handing their votes to the Trump-hating, Democratic opponents of these conservative stalwarts.
Even if Trump himself falls short of victory, if he runs a strong, energetic race he could bring out new voters the party desperately needs to help defend the GOP’s tenuous Senate majority.