GOP turns on itself after big Dem wave

(Salon) Trumpism ran into a blue wall of Democratic opposition on Tuesday, resulting in resounding election losses for Republicans in New Jersey, Virginia, New York City and California. The election of Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim and millennial to lead New York City, notably drew bigoted and hysterical responses from many on the right. But their reaction to the election of moderates, like New Jersey Democrat Mikie Sherill as governor, suggests that conservatives are not ready to grapple with voter opposition to the MAGA agenda. In the wake of such decisive defeats, GOP pundits and operatives have quickly devolved into finger-pointing and recriminations, with some conservatives even turning on President Donald Trump himself.

“Republicans can’t win without ‘big daddy’? Well, guess what? Then you’re going to lose forever because he can’t run again,” Megyn Kelly said on her popular podcast on Wednesday, acknowledging the Constitution’s constraints against a third Trump term. “God save Republicans and their children in [Virginia],” she posted on X after Democrats flipped every statewide office and dozens of seats in the commonwealth’s House of Delegates.

....(snip)....

Shortly after the race was called on Tuesday night, Fox News carried Mamdani’s victory speech in full, and veteran anchor Bret Baier described the night as a “big loss” for Republicans. On CNN, resident Republican commentator Scott Jennings tried to spin the wave of wins as “a terrible night for national Democratic image.” His feeble attempt garnered a round of laughter from the gathered panel of pundits.

....(snip)....

“It’s like a funeral in here,” Rob Astorino, the senior political contributor of the right-wing cable news outlet Newsmax, noted, urging host Greg Kelly to brace himself for “the next bad news. This is going to be in California, where Prop 50 is on the ballot.” Even though Trump’s Department of Justice sent election monitors to five California counties, millions of Californians voted to pass Prop 50, which would allow temporary redistricting maps through 2030 to offset Trump’s unprecedented efforts to gerrymander more congressional districts toward the GOP. The ballot measure won by a large margin, 64% to 36%. Republicans in California have already filed a lawsuit against Prop 50, and they are represented by a law firm founded by Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at Trump’s Justice Department. .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/11/05/republicans-stunned-by-democratic-wave-turn-on-themselves/