Whit Ayres’ comments for Frontline on the role partisanship in defending a sitting president: Political scientists said that limited criticism is normal from a president’s own party. Some made parallels to the debate among Republicans over whether to defend President Ronald Reagan following the Iran-Contra scandal. Whit Ayres, a Republican political consultant, noted that Democrats...
Whit Ayres’ comments about President Trump and the Republican party were prominently featured in Newsweek, including this observation: “Virtually every president’s job approval has been driven by the state of the economy,” Ayres points out, but Trump “has severed the traditional link between presidential job approval and economic well-being.” That lends some credence to the...
Whit Ayres’ comments in The Washington Post on Nancy Pelosi’s dismissal of tax reform benefits: Even many Democrats cringed privately at her “crumbs” comment, which they worry distracts from their larger argument over the fairness of GOP economic policies. And of course, any metaphor that involves baked goods easily lends itself to the Marie Antoinette...
Whit Ayres’ comments in The Daily Caller on Republican electoral prospects in the face of changing demographics: Republican pollster Whit Ayres points out that President Bush got 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, including a majority of Sunbelt Hispanics. “It’s no coincidence that he was the last Republican nominee for president to win...
Jon McHenry’s comments to The World Weekly on the economy and Republican prospects in the fall: Republican leaders plan to campaign on economic successes. The US economy has surged in recent months, with GDP up 3.2% in the third quarter of 2017 and unemployment down to 4.1%. Messaging will particularly focus on the Republican tax...
The Virginia Election in Six Charts
BlogDemographicsFeaturedPolitical ClimateRepublicansJanuary 23, 2018
Democratic nominee Ralph Northam won the 2017 election for Governor of Virginia by the unexpectedly large margin of nine percentage points, 54 to 45 percent. Unlike the Rustbelt states voting for President in 2016, few counties switched from Democrat to Republican since the last Virginia gubernatorial election in 2013. Instead the surprising margin was caused...
Whit Ayres’ quote in The New York Times regarding the state of play in the 2018 Senate map: “The Democrats running in the 10 states that Donald Trump carried have all demonstrated an ability to get elected in Republican states, so they obviously have something going for them,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist. “But...
Whit Ayres, December 22, NPR
BlogFeaturedIn the News SidebarNews ClipsPolitical ClimateTrumpDecember 23, 2017
Whit Ayres appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered to discuss President Trump’s job approval: To read the transcript, please click here.
Whit Ayres’ comments in Bloomberg Businessweek regarding the competitive Senate environment in 2018: Whit Ayres, a GOP strategist advising Senate and House candidates next year, admits Republicans are going to have “the wind in their face,” but he points out that, given the 26 seats Senate Democrats will have to keep, the GOP has been...
Whit Ayres’ comments to the Associated Press on the effect of tax reform on Republicans’ electoral prospects in 2018: “Passing the tax bill is necessary but not sufficient for Republicans to retain control of Congress in 2018,” said GOP consultant Whit Ayres. “It does give the party a concrete accomplishment that they can take to...
