New strategy aims to morph moderate GOP contenders into 'super candidate' Trump: report
President-elect Donald Trump's Election Day victory has Republican strategists issuing chilling advice to their clients about how to win upcoming elections, according to a new report.
Conservative campaign experts told NOTUS Friday that Trump's over-performance, in comparison to almost every other Republican candidate, has them re-thinking how to reach out to voters.
“Trump embodies a middle finger to the cultural establishment,” Giancarlo Sopo, a Republican strategist, told NOTUS. “You can’t authentically replicate the Trump persona. ... But what you can do is take a look at parts of his policies that do appeal to people and embrace them.”
Multiple strategists told NOTUS they'll be telling candidates to be more like Trump.
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Brad Todd, who advised Dave McCormick's successful Pennsylvania senatorial campaign, praised Trump's attacks on transgender people — and urged other Republicans to do so boldly.
“When you see the number 80/20, you have to believe it,” Todd said. “And the Trump campaign was willing to go to the 80/20 issue that wasn’t in the normal matrix of issues, and that’s a lesson.”
Alex Stroman, a Republican strategist, reportedly called Trump a "super candidate."
The National Republican Congressional Committee sent out a pre-election memo praising Trump's popularity as the top reason its members felt confident they would retain a congressional majority, according to the report.
"Trump is poised to further re-create the party in his own image," NOTUS reported, "driven by his popularity with voters beyond even the Republican base."
Republicans now have set themselves the goal of appealing to the Trump voters who did not choose to show support for other members of his party, strategists told NOTUS.
"Winning over voters who turned out for Trump but ignored other GOP candidates, should be a goal for the party in future elections, said GOP strategists," the report stated. "They could help the party win a multitude of swing states and battleground districts."