Fewer than half of vulnerable Republican congressional candidates secured speaking roles at their own party's convention. The rest stayed home. Smart move when your polling numbers look like a margin call.
The party wanted to build momentum. They got a half-empty roster instead. Nothing says "we're winning" like candidates too scared to stand on a stage with their own team. These are people running for office who won't even show up to the pep rally.
The ones who skipped probably checked the polls first. Saw the numbers. Did the math. Realized that associating yourself with the convention might be worse than just letting people forget you exist until November. That's not strategy. That's hiding.
Imagine being so toxic to your own campaign that you ghost your party's national event. The GOP planned this thing to generate buzz. Instead they generated a list of no-shows that reads like a f*cking RSVP card from a wedding where the bride and groom already broke up.
The vulnerable candidates made a calculation. Stage time at the convention versus staying in their districts and pretending they've never heard of Washington. They picked the latter. Can't blame them. Hard to build momentum when you're the reason it doesn't exist.
This is what happens when your bench is so deep that half of it won't sit on the bench. The party throws a convention. The candidates throw excuses. Voters throw their hands up. And retail traders somehow find a way to lose money on prediction markets they didn't know existed.
The GOP wanted a show of force. They got a show of absence. Perfect metaphor for a midterm strategy built on hoping nobody notices you're there.
Photo by on Unsplash
Leave a Comment