Going around:
Recommitting to Conservative Reform
Topline Message
- The voters sent a message. As Republicans, we need to make sure that message is received by:
o Recommitting ourselves to conservative reform;
o Working to provide bipartisan solutions to the challenges facing our country; and
- Ensuring that the leaders in our Party have public service as their highest calling and not personal enrichment or power.
The Past and The Future
- We need to refocus on our conservative principles of less government, lower taxes, less regulation, strong national defense, judicial restraint, and fiscal conservatism. We have a very vibrant and strong party and a philosophy that works. We just have to recommit ourselves to better serving the American people.
- We need to listen to the voters and hold ourselves and our party to the highest ethical principles.
- The issues that face America are not Republican or Democrat issues. The lesson we take out of this is that we need to work in a bipartisan manner to address the issues facing America. We will work in a bipartisan fashion to reduce the invective, reduce the rhetoric, and get things done for the American people.
- We need to continue to expand our Party by continuing to reach out to the African American community, the Hispanic community, and all communities that haven’t traditionally supported the Republican Party.
- We knew this was going to be a very tough year. Since WWII, the party of the incumbent President has typically lost more than 30 seats in the House of Representatives and six seats in the Senate during the second midterm. In addition, in the five wartime congressional elections since 1860, the President’s party has lost an average of 32 House seats and five Senate seats.
- A number of incumbents who lost had unique local difficulties or scandal.
- Despite the unprecedented obstacles, this election was no 1994. 22 races are within two percentage points; 18 of them are being decided by fewer than 5,000 votes, and four by less than 1,000 votes.
- The RNC spent more than $70 million on competitive midterm elections and deployed thousands of volunteers who helped make more than 32.9 million voter contacts. These efforts likely helped prevent further losses in a very tough election.