Spooked by Conor Lamb's upset victory, anonymous "[t]op House Republicans" (or at least, their aides) called out more than half a dozen GOP incumbents by name to the Washington Examiner's David Drucker, saying they've been running "complacent" campaigns that could turn each of them into the next Rick Saccone. And notably, every member of this dishonor roll represents a district won by Donald Trump, whose performance we include in parentheses:
- IL-12: Mike Bost (55-40)
- MI-07: Tim Walberg (56-39)
- MI-08: Mike Bishop (51-44)
- NC-09: Robert Pittenger (54-43)
- NC-13: Ted Budd (53-44)
- VA-05: Tom Garrett (53-42)
- VA-07: Dave Brat (51-44)
- WI-06: Glenn Grothman (56-39)
Of course, when you're using the press to give someone a sharp kick in the rear, it means that private methods of communication have already failed. Some efforts to light fires under lackluster red-district representatives have reportedly shown some success, though. Elsewhere in Drucker's piece, Grothman is credited with "stepping up his game," along with Rep. John Culberson (TX-07).
Two other slackers, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) and Rep. Andy Barr (KY-06), are likewise said to have "seen an uptick in fundraising and legwork." Still, it's shocking to see McMorris Rodgers, a senior member of leadership and the only woman in the top ranks of the House GOP, make any kind of list of laggards at all. And these are only the people that Republican insiders are so fed up with they've decided to complain publicly about. No doubt the full list of loafers is longer—the rest just haven't come in for a public shaming yet.
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