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Moderate non-Trump Republican governors are disappearing from the political landscape
Nbcnews.com ^ | 1/23/22 | Alex Seitz-Wald

Posted on 01/23/2022 3:51:17 AM PST by cotton1706

Governors, traditionally insulated from national politics, are one of the last bastions of Republican elected leaders able to maneuver around former President Donald Trump.

But maybe not for long.

Trump is stepping up his involvement in gubernatorial primaries, looking to make an example of critics in his own party and elevate allies ahead of a potential 2024 presidential run — just as some elected before the former president's takeover of the GOP are hitting their term limits.

The result could be unelectable candidates in otherwise winnable races and the purging of some of the few Republican elected leaders who didn't need to depend on Trump's base, critics say.

“It's bad for the party, and it's bad for the country,” Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who will leave office next year and is term-limited, said in an interview. “The people that I think are good Republicans that we need in the party that are being unfairly criticized because they won't swear allegiance to the Dear Leader.”

Popular Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced last month he will not run for re-election after Trump endorsed a GOP primary challenger. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who resisted Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, is term-limited. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, who has dramatically expanded vote-by-mail in opposition to Trump, has not yet said if he’ll run again despite being declared the most popular governor in America.

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: elections; elekchunz; nevertrumpers; tds
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"unelectable candidates in otherwise winnable races"

They have been pushing this line of nonsense go so long.

1 posted on 01/23/2022 3:51:17 AM PST by cotton1706
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To: cotton1706

And the problem is...?


2 posted on 01/23/2022 3:52:59 AM PST by Spacetrucker (George Washington didn't use his freedom of speech to defeat the British - HE SHOT THEM .. WITH GUNS)
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To: cotton1706
Popular Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker ...

Thats a stretch.

3 posted on 01/23/2022 3:58:17 AM PST by glorgau
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To: cotton1706

Show me a moderate Democrat governor.


4 posted on 01/23/2022 4:03:11 AM PST by Williams (Stop Tolerating The Intolerant)
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Bye.


5 posted on 01/23/2022 4:04:35 AM PST by ArcadeQuarters (Remember the 2020 backstabbers. No more RINOs ever!)
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To: cotton1706

from NBC, “moderate” means “we can roll over them with media pressure on any issue at any time”


6 posted on 01/23/2022 4:10:24 AM PST by thoughtomator
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To: Williams

Ralph Northam is now a moderate Democrat governor


7 posted on 01/23/2022 4:10:50 AM PST by thoughtomator
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To: cotton1706

Good riddens!!


8 posted on 01/23/2022 4:11:25 AM PST by MachIV
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To: cotton1706
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, who has dramatically expanded vote-by-mail in opposition to Trump, has not yet said if he’ll run again despite being declared the most popular governor in America.

This guy is certainly no "moderate" and is literally just as Left as any Democrat. Vermont is essentially a non-partisan ballot statewide with only Leftists needing to apply.

9 posted on 01/23/2022 4:15:48 AM PST by Republican Wildcat
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To: cotton1706

I agree with one premise of this opinion piece.
The Primaries this year are going to tell us who & what are the heart of the Republican Party, As I have posed before, I see three distinct parties. 1) Vichy-Republicans. ie: Liz Cheney 2) Rockefeller-Republicans. ie: Mitt Romney. 3) MAGA-Republicans. ie: Andy Biggs and the rest of us.

Go Kari Lake!


10 posted on 01/23/2022 4:17:22 AM PST by Tupelo
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To: Tupelo

If Cheney loses in the primary, I believe there’s an 80% chance she will run as an Independent. She’s a vindictive horses a** and would do anything to prevent any Trump supported candidate from winning.


11 posted on 01/23/2022 4:26:34 AM PST by Russ (I )
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To: thoughtomator

“Ralph Northam is now a moderate Democrat governor”

Youngkin is also a non-Trump Republican. He didn’t want Trump around ‘helping’ him in what was considered a light blue state. But he also understood something VERY SIMPLE, that I guess is too much for Hogan and most of the other Republican governors (as well as Cruz, Crenshaw, and many other Republicans), which is that one CANNOT attack Trump without simultaneously attacking Trump’s voters - it is literally impossible. And has Youngkin also figured out, virtually EVERY elected Republican needs Trump’s voters, ALL OF THEM, to win (which makes sense since 90% of Republican voters also support Trump).

So Youngkin figured out something that is OBVIOUS to us: If you don’t like Trump, fine, we almost expect that (after all, virtually no one in the GOP liked Reagan too, not even his VP). But if you also want to win, then learn to KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. It’s really something that most of us learn in grade school - don’t bitch about everything that bothers you.

To this day, I don’t know what Youngkin thinks of Trump, and I don’t really care either. Youngkin’s an otherwise good Republican (and far, far, better than any Democrat) and if he doesn’t insult Trump (meaning doesn’t insult me), I’d vote for him (if I lived in Virginia), as much as I’d vote for Trump.


12 posted on 01/23/2022 4:28:53 AM PST by BobL (I shop at Walmart and eat at McDonald's, I just don't tell anyone, like most here.)
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To: Tupelo

How exactly do the Vichy and Rockefeller factions differ?


13 posted on 01/23/2022 4:31:08 AM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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To: Russ

“If Cheney loses in the primary, I believe there’s an 80% chance she will run as an Independent. She’s a vindictive horses a** and would do anything to prevent any Trump supported candidate from winning.”

I guess she can try, but Wyoming isn’t Arizona in that it’s a rather deep red state, and if Trump gets the Republican base out, then pretty much all Cheney can do is split up the Democrat vote.


14 posted on 01/23/2022 4:31:09 AM PST by BobL (I shop at Walmart and eat at McDonald's, I just don't tell anyone, like most here.)
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To: cotton1706

The Republicans need to focus on winning the working class away from Democrats. Do that, and the Democrats lose.


15 posted on 01/23/2022 4:32:29 AM PST by SauronOfMordor (A Leftist can't enjoy life unless they are controlling, hurting, or destroying others)
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To: Republican Wildcat

I never heard of him until now. If NBC calls him “most popular”, that has to be an enormous exaggeration at best.


16 posted on 01/23/2022 4:32:49 AM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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To: SauronOfMordor

The working class are not behind the Dems. They aren’t behind the left-wing Republicans either due to being betrayed by them over and over.


17 posted on 01/23/2022 4:34:41 AM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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To: BobL

Why doesn’t Wyoming get rid of the open primary? To me, allowing the opposition to vote in your primary is like letting your rival high school choose who will be on your school’s football team.


18 posted on 01/23/2022 4:39:51 AM PST by Freee-dame
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To: Spacetrucker

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍


19 posted on 01/23/2022 4:42:00 AM PST by KeyLargo
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To: cotton1706

20 posted on 01/23/2022 4:43:40 AM PST by McGruff (Trump/DeSantis 2024)
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