GOP Senators Face Intraparty Backlash Over Campaigns
Republican criticism has mounted against Kansas Senator Roger Marshall and Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, along with South Carolina candidate Darline Graham, over fundraising and campaign activity before the November 3 midterm election. Party operatives said the candidates had treated their races as safe and failed to respond quickly to warnings to raise money and campaign harder.
Marshall faces Democrat Adam Hamilton in a contest that has tightened sharply. A New York Times/Siena poll released on November 1 put Hamilton five points ahead. Marshall had raised $7.5 million, compared with Hamilton’s $19 million, and Republicans have brought in veteran operative Chris Grant to help the incumbent’s campaign.
Graham, who is seeking the seat held for decades by her late brother Lindsey Graham, is in a close race with Democrat Annie Andrews. A poll last month had both candidates at 48 percent. Andrews had raised $4.2 million, while Graham had raised $570,000. A spokesperson for Graham said she had faced significant challenges after her brother’s death three months earlier and had responded to them.
Hyde-Smith is expected to win against Democrat Scott Colom, but Republicans are concerned she could fall short of expectations. She had raised $6.5 million to Colom’s $13.7 million, and party critics faulted her for holding too few campaign events. Republican strategists have also criticized Marshall’s campaign leadership and Graham’s failure to draw more heavily on her brother’s donor network.
GOP Complacency Puts Red-State Senate Seats at Risk
Republican candidates in states their party expected to hold are now drawing criticism from their own ranks for acting as if victory were automatic. That complacency has left Roger Marshall badly outspent in Kansas and Darline Graham struggling to turn her family name into a viable campaign in South Carolina.
Marshall had raised $7.5 million, against Democrat Adam Hamilton’s $19 million, and a November 1 poll showed Hamilton ahead by five points. Republicans say Marshall’s team expected attacks on Hamilton to improve the numbers, but the strategy did not deliver. The party has now brought in veteran operative Chris Grant to give the campaign a last-minute boost.
In South Carolina, Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews were tied at 48 percent in a poll last month. Andrews had raised $4.2 million, compared with Graham’s $570,000. Graham became the candidate after her brother Lindsey’s death three months ago; a spokesperson said she had met unprecedented challenges and risen to them. Republicans have nevertheless criticized her fundraising and campaign effort.
Hyde-Smith is favored against Scott Colom in Mississippi, but her $6.5 million in fundraising trails his $13.7 million. GOP critics also say she has held too few events. The stakes are clear: treating red-state voters and races as guaranteed has created openings for Democrats, while the party’s own operatives are now scrambling to shore up candidates they expected to coast.
Weak Senate Campaigns Put GOP’s Red-State Advantage at Risk
The problems confronting three Republican Senate campaigns are a warning about execution, not a reason to take conservative states for granted. Party operatives say Roger Marshall, Cindy Hyde-Smith and Darline Graham did not raise enough money or campaign aggressively enough, leaving the party to spend resources to support races it expected to be safer.
Marshall is the clearest example. He had raised $7.5 million, while Democrat Adam Hamilton had raised $19 million; a November 1 poll put Hamilton five points ahead. Republicans say Marshall’s campaign misjudged the race, and veteran operative Chris Grant has been brought in to help. The outcome may turn on whether the campaign can correct course before voters decide.
Graham’s contest with Democrat Annie Andrews was tied at 48 percent in a poll last month. Andrews had raised $4.2 million to Graham’s $570,000. Graham entered the race after her brother Lindsey’s death, and her spokesperson said she had faced serious headwinds. But Republicans’ criticism of her fundraising points to a basic campaign responsibility that family connections cannot replace.
Hyde-Smith remains expected to win in Mississippi, yet her fundraising—$6.5 million against Scott Colom’s $13.7 million—and limited campaign events have drawn complaints. Democrats may benefit from these missteps, but the immediate challenge for Republicans is to make candidates take their own races seriously rather than assume a red-state label will carry them.
Reported by The Daily Beast, Daily Kos.
