A number, mostly former Republican officials, are discussing how the party can move forward in the wake of Trump’s presidency, raising the possibility of a formal split from the GOP, according to two people leading the discussions.
Reuters first reported that dozens of these party believers are in talks to form an anti-Trump third party. Two of the leaders, Evan McMullin, a former chief policy director of the House Republican Conference who ran for president as an independent candidate in 2016, and Miles Taylor, a former official of the Trump administration’s Homeland Security, told CBS News that a decision on this has not yet been made. The discussions can also result in the creation of a faction within the GOP.
The group conducting the talks includes current and former elected officials, some from the past four Republican presidential governments, as well as GOP leaders at the state and national levels. More than 120 of them logged into a Zoom call last Friday to talk about the future of the party. McMullin said it included people who supported President Trump, not just people who were against him.
The talks were revealed this week as the Senate holds its second impeachment trial against Trump. The House passed an impeachment article against him in January for inciting insurgency in connection with the storming of the Capitol on January 6, while Congress counted the votes cast in the electoral college and affirmed President Biden’s defeat of Mr. It was a day when McMullin was called a turning point to many Republicans.
“After the uprising, we now see a quarter to a third of a party wanting a new direction,” said McMullin. “We now have a larger part of the party to work with.” But he admitted that there is still not enough short-term support “to change the direction of the party”.
McMullin said 40% of those who took part in the call wanted to form a new party immediately, and 43% felt they needed to create a new faction in the party to work within the GOP or independently. Both McMullin and Taylor recognized the difficulties of actually launching a third party, especially one that is viable in a political system dominated by two major parties.
“We wouldn’t have talked about it if we didn’t think it was plausible,” Taylor said. “But at the same time, everyone has a clear eye for the challenges. Third parties have been tried and failed many times in this country.”
Both men compared the movement to the Tea Party, an activist movement that emerged within the Republican Party a decade ago. Tea Party leaders backed candidates on primary challenges, but would meet after the trial to support Republicans.
An important question may be how responsive the Republican base is – at this point it is still committed to Mr Trump. A recent poll by CBS News found that 73% of Republicans said it was very or somewhat important that Republicans are now loyal to Mr. Trump. One-third of Republicans said they would join Trump if he formed a new political party.
Taylor described the group’s idea as “tea party light and less to the right”. He thinks there is potential for more support than polls suggest.
“We read the energy at the root level in a different way,” said Taylor. “We see a lot of people ready to turn the page and that’s where we’re feeling the momentum.”
Republicans have seen party registration fall in major states on the battlefield since the January 6 attack, with most of those voters considering themselves unaffiliated with any party. It’s not clear what impact that will have on future races, and in some states, voters not registered with the party will still be able to run in Republican primaries. A Gallup poll from Wednesday found the GOP’s approval score is 37%, down six points since November. That was fueled by a 12-point drop in Republican favor – from 90% to 78%.
As these Republicans ponder their next steps, McMullin said they plan to support moderate Republicans such as Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger and Alaksa Senator Lisa Murkowski. But the group also sometimes supported non-Republicans.
“A new faction would support good Republicans, but could also support independent candidates who are actually viable,” said McMullin. He added that there could also be a desire to aid independent candidates and lend support to ‘unifying Democrats’ fighting ‘extremist Republicans,’ including backing Arizona’s Democratic Senator Mark Kelly if he was in a general election.
Republican National Committee Chairman Ronna McDaniel, an ally of Mr Trump, recently told Fox News that Republicans must come together to succeed in the midterm elections.
“If we keep attacking each other and focus on attacking fellow Republicans, if we have disagreements within our party, then we’ll lose sight of 2022,” McDaniel said.
Jason Miller, an adviser to Mr. Trump told Reuters, “These losers left the Republican Party when they voted for Joe Biden.”
Taylor rejected the idea that this would divide the Republican Party and win a hand to Democrats.
“Our goal is not to break away and split the vote. Our goal is really to create a more attractive alternative that people on the right can rally around as more attractive to a wider group of the American people,” Taylor said. . “If we are successful, we will pull the center of gravity in the GOP our direction.”