Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer warned that Republican turnout when President Donald Trump is not on the ballot could be a “huge problem” for the party on Wednesday.
Liberal Susan Crawford beat conservative Brad Schimel by about 10 percentage points in the race to fill a vacant seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court roughly five months after Trump won Wisconsin in the 2024 presidential election by a little over 29,000 votes.
READ: Florida Gov. DeSantis Rips Into Rep-Elect Randy Fine After Special Election Win
Spicer said that the margin in Wisconsin, where the conservative lost an election to fill a vacant seat on the state supreme court, was a warning sign during an appearance on 2Way.
“It’s a special election, it’s off season right but that’s still not bad you’re, you’re about down 300 and plus, the Republicans who had gotten 1.6 with Donald Trump leading the ticket went down to 1.05. That’s a huge problem […] that’s the turnout, the motivation problem,” Spicer said.
“What is driving that? Are they pissed off? Are they pissed off at Donald Trump? Are they pissed off at their, you know, what’s going on Wisconsin, or are they not motivated?” Spicer continued. “Did they only turn out because of Donald Trump? Did they only want to see him? And I think that understanding that delta is critical to the midterms because you need to understand, are you facing a motivation or a mechanical problem? And nowhere better than with Wisconsin did that show up.”
Republican State Senator Randy Fine defeated Democratic candidate Josh Weil by 14 percentage points in the race to replace Michael Waltz in Florida’s 6th Congressional District.
Former Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis trounced Democratic candidate Gay Valimont by 14.8 points in special elections in Florida held to replace former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz. Both seats became open after President Trump tapped their original officeholders for his cabinet.
Waltz, who formerly held the 6th District seat, now serves as Trump’s national security advisor, while Gaetz, who formerly held the 1st District seat, was Trump’s initial appointee for Attorney General before withdrawing from consideration.
“The problem with the Republicans… both parties attritted from 2024, which is, again, it’s a general election,” Spicer told Mark Halperin and Dan Turrentine. “You guys did a better job of getting your folks motivated out there.”
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
