“The country is ready for Republicans to come forward — not to tell them what we’re against, but to tell them what we’re for.”
WASHINGTON, DC – In remarks this past Monday before a luncheon meeting of The Ripon Society, veteran strategist Ed Goeas predicted Republicans will win back control of the U.S. House next year, and said that – given the poll numbers of the President and a political environment that favors the GOP – regaining control of the Senate is not out of the question, either.
“If I had to call it today, I think we will win back control of the House of Representatives,” Goeas declared. “And I think we have a better than even chance of actually picking up the Senate again, which not many people are talking about today … The Biden honeymoon is over. His numbers have come back to earth and we’re seeing that reflected all through the data.”
“The country is ready for Republicans to come forward — not to tell them what we’re against, but to tell them what we’re for. And we’re in an environment where many of the issues are issues that will play to our benefit. In fact, if you ask people about the direction of the country today, it is 32% right track and 60% wrong track. And 52% are saying that the country is off on the wrong track strongly. So there’s some real intensity there.”
Goeas delivered his remarks during a preview of The Ripon Society’s 6th Annual National Survey, which was released yesterday afternoon. Among other things, the poll – which was conducted last month by the Tarrance Group, a strategic research firm that Goeas leads as President — found that the GOP has a clear advantage on the issues, but neither party has captured a majority of the electorate’s trust. According to Goeas, the only issue where Biden and the Democrats do have an advantage over Republicans is in dealing with COVID-19.
“It’s one area where he’s been able to hold up,” the veteran strategist remarked. “But the most important thing is when you look at immigration, the economy, cost of living, inflation, even jobs – on all those issues, he’s upside down by anywhere from 10 to 17 points. One of the things I’m trying to remind Republicans is we don’t have to bash him hard. All we have to do is keep the discussion on economic issues that we have an advantage on.”
“We have a six-point advantage on the economy. We have a six-point advantage on cost of living. We have a four-point advantage on jobs, which is usually a more Democratic issue. We have a seven-point advantage on inflation, and only an eight-point deficit on education, where we usually have somewhere around a 20 to 25 point deficit.”
Goeas noted that the survey also asked voters what they are looking for in an elected official – do they want someone who consistently fights for their values, even if it means not finding a solution very often? Or do they want someone who is willing to work together to get things done, even if it means compromising sometimes?
“By a 64% to 28% margin,” Goeas said, “they’re saying ‘We want compromise and we want solutions.’ So one of the key messages I think we need for all Republicans is be for something, not against something. We have a huge section of the electorate that’s tired of all the negatives. They’re ready for solutions, and they’re ready for Congress to do something.”
Links to an analysis and the slide deck from the Ripon Society’s National Survey can be found below:
https://riponsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Ripon-Society-National-Survey-2021.pdf
https://riponsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Ripon-Society-National-Survey-2021-slides.pdf
To view Goeas’ remarks before The Ripon Society’s luncheon meeting on Monday, please click on the link below:
The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.