{"id":2416987,"date":"2025-03-28T07:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T11:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stefanik-switch-up-highlights-gops-turnout-problem-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-03-28T09:54:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T13:54:27","slug":"stefanik-switch-up-highlights-gops-turnout-problem-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stefanik-switch-up-highlights-gops-turnout-problem-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Stefanik switch-up highlights GOP&#8217;s turnout problem &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstefanik-switch-up-highlights-gops-turnout-problem-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2416987&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the implications of President Donald Trump&#8217;s withdrawal of Rep. Elise Stefanik&#8217;s nomination to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, highlighting a meaningful turnout issue facing the Republican Party.Trump cited the need to safeguard the GOP&#8217;s fragile majority in the House as the reason for his decision, rather than any failings on Stefanik&#8217;s part.With pivotal votes looming, Republicans are anxious about potential Democratic victories in upcoming special elections, particularly in Florida, where GOP candidate Randy Fine is trailing despite previously holding a strong lead. This trend of Democratic wins in typically Republican districts suggests a growing backlash against Trump and his policies, as engaged Democratic voters are showing up in larger numbers. The article suggests that the GOP needs to revamp its approach to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">mobilizing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-desantis-calls-for-change-at-the-rnc\/\" title=\"Gov. DeSantis Calls for Change at the RNC\">low-propensity voters<\/a> ahead<\/a> of the midterm elections, as their past strategies may no longer be effective. The situation reflects growing challenges for Republicans, who fear losing their slim House majority in the future elections.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Stefanik switch-up highlights GOP&rsquo;s turnout problem<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2076654\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3361333\/white-house-elise-stefanik-un-nomination-pulled-gop-math\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">yank the nomination<\/a> of Rep.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elise-stefanik\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"> Elise Stefanik<\/a> (R-NY) to become U.S. ambassador to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/united-nations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">United Nations<\/a> is the latest sign <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Republicans<\/a> have a special election problem.<\/p>\n<p>Trump specifically cited in pulling the nomination the need to protect House Republicans&rsquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/3309488\/alarmingly-narrow-house-majority\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">slim majority<\/a> rather than any problem with Stefanik herself.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3359859\/trump-targets-tammany-on-potomac-democratic-power-structure\/\">Trump targets Tammany on the Potomac<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3360723\/national-security-veterans-vexed-trump-team-signal-use-yemen\/\">National security veterans vexed by Trump team&#8217;s Signal use on Yemen operation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3361979\/takeaways-elon-musk-fox-baier-interview-doge-team-leaders\/\">Five takeaways from Musk&#8217;s sweeping interview with DOGE leaders<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The House has key votes coming up on Trump&rsquo;s agenda, and the GOP could not afford to let Stefanik&rsquo;s seat remain vacant &mdash;&nbsp;there have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/03\/10\/2025\/hochul-expected-to-slow-walk-election-to-replace-stefanik\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reports <\/a>that Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kathy-hochul\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kathy Hochul<\/a> (D-NY) planned to delay a special election to replace her for as long as legally possible &mdash;&nbsp;or fall to the Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans are panicked by polling showing a special congressional election in Florida next week too close for comfort. A private poll <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/03\/27\/trump-elise-stefanik-nomination-un\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">taken<\/a> by a top Trump 2024 strategist has GOP candidate Randy Fine trailing after enjoying a 12-point lead in February.<\/p>\n<p>Trump carried this congressional district by 30 points last year. He won statewide in Florida by 13.1 points. Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ron-desantis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Ron DeSantis<\/a> (R-FL), with whom Fine has feuded, was reelected by a 19.4-point margin in 2022. DeSantis has warned that Fine, a state senator, will underperform &mdash; a &ldquo;way underperformance,&rdquo; he said &mdash; on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to try to lay that at the feet of President Trump,&rdquo; DeSantis told reporters. &ldquo;That is not a reflection of President Trump. It&rsquo;s a reflection of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-casts-doubt-on-florida-republican-running-in-special-election-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"DeSantis casts doubt on ... Republican running in ... - Washington Examiner\">specific candidate running<\/a> in that race.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But it is not an entirely isolated incident. Democrats narrowly won a special election for a state Senate seat in a heavily Republican district this week. Democrats also won an Iowa state Senate seat in a special election in an overwhelmingly Republican district earlier this year and came close in another.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats hope this is a sign of backlash against Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency sidekick, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Elon Musk<\/a>. They have warned on the campaign trail about billionaires trying to cut social programs to pay for tax cuts for the rich.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>There is a likely Trump connection, with Democrats extremely angry and motivated to turn out after he returned to the White House. But in the Trump era, many Democrats are now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/at-election-integrity-roundtable-house-republicans-champion-early-voting\/\" title=\"At Election Integrity Roundtable, ... ... Champion Early Voting\">high-propensity voters<\/a> who show up for special elections while many working-class converts to the GOP skip them.<\/p>\n<p>Trump was reelected in 2024 with a special focus on low-propensity voters, spearheaded by Musk and conservative activist Charlie Kirk. But it is difficult to motivate these voters to turn out in off-year elections without Trump on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p>This is a stunning reversal from when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Barack Obama<\/a> was running for president. He won two terms in the Oval Office in part by getting younger and minority voters to turn out in record numbers. But he was unable to mobilize them in the midterm elections. Republicans easily took the House in 2010 and then captured the Senate in 2014. Democrats took a beating in down-ballot races during Obama&rsquo;s presidency.<\/p>\n<p>There has been tremendous Democratic energy and anger in recent weeks, with progressives disrupting Republican lawmakers&rsquo; town hall meetings and holding huge rallies. Some of this may reflect superior organizing skills. It is unlikely that the demonstrators who chanted about Jan. 6 at an event for Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) are especially representative of local conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Wyoming was Trump&rsquo;s best state for the second consecutive election in 2024. He won 71.6% of the vote. Jan. 6 was thoroughly litigated in Hageman&rsquo;s 2023 GOP primary for the seat, when she beat former Rep. Liz Cheney by 37.4 points.<\/p>\n<p>But discrepancies between the parties in organization and enthusiasm can make a big difference in special elections.<\/p>\n<p>The Florida congressional seat Republicans are most worried about on April 1 was vacated by former Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-waltz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Mike Waltz<\/a> to become Trump&rsquo;s national security adviser, a position that doesn&rsquo;t require Senate confirmation. Stefanik&rsquo;s confirmation hearings were repeatedly delayed before her withdrawal in order not to detract from Republicans&rsquo; slender House majority further. Now, she must stay in Congress to shore up her party&rsquo;s precarious position, though a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/reesejgorman\/status\/1905332109335572781\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">recent <em>Politico <\/em>poll <\/a>showed a generic Republican faring well against the Democratic candidate in her district.<\/p>\n<p>Waltz was at the center of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/editorials\/3359742\/signal-group-chat-war-plans-security-lapse-and-consequences\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Signal chat group leak<\/a> of details about a Yemen military strike that accidentally included fervently anti-Trump journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who later reported on some of the contents.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans are going to have to figure out a way to address their turnout deficit ahead of next year&rsquo;s midterm elections, in which their small House majority could be wiped out entirely. They underperformed in the 2022 midterm elections, which were widely expected to be a red wave.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3360482\/warning-signs-democrats-republicans-next-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>WARNING SIGNS FOR DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS AHEAD OF NEXT ELECTION&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>That year, Florida was a rare exception where Republicans met and even exceeded electoral expectations. They will need some luck to replicate that on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The Stefanik move shows that Republicans all the way up to the White House aren&rsquo;t leaving anything to chance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2076654\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2076654\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stefanik&#8217;s withdrawal underscores GOP&#8217;s turnout issues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2416988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/AP25021597494557.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[3728,6203,3973,52384,32076],"class_list":["post-2416987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily","tag-election","tag-gop","tag-stefanik","tag-turnout-problem","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/AP25021597494557.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2416987"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2416991,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416987\/revisions\/2416991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2416988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2416987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2416987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2416987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}