'Fragile': Top Republican warns looming elections poised to expose Trump's 'fading power'
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) told Republican colleagues that the special elections this week are "poised to be bad for the GOP brand," said a report Monday.
According to TIME, one Florida House race in a district that went Republican in November by 30 points now has a Democratic candidate just a few points behind their GOP rival. He has also outraised the Republican by a 10-to-1 margin.
In Wisconsin, tech billionaire Elon Musk rushed to hold a huge rally and hand out million-dollar checks to inspire voters for a far-right state Supreme Court judge. At least one of those checks went to a GOP loyalist, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Scalise "issued this warning," said TIME, that "even in a GOP sweep, the election results are going to raise inevitable questions about the fragile GOP standing and the fading power of Trump’s endorsement."
"Scalise—like leadership-aligned Democrats, speaking candidly—expects the Florida seats to stay red, but the slide is going to be tough to ignore," the report said.
There are two congressional races in Florida to watch, as well as the Wisconsin Supreme Court race that will unfold on Tuesday.
TIME noted that these elections come on the heels of three state legislative races "that may hint at a larger Trump backlash."