Is there a Trump down-ticket drag?

A question Republicans should ask themselves is whether Donald Trump is a presidential candidate to help the entire GOP ticket or if he's in it for himself. This Washington Post article cites a poll from a DeSantis-aligned pollster that asks "How much better off would the GOP be with DeSantis as its nominee?" Specifically, it mentions "We have, of course, seen DeSantis generally performing better in the general election than Donald Trump. But this poll looked at the down-ballot effects for the Republican Party. And it showed the GOP doing better under DeSantis there, as well."

Specifically, the Washington Post article mentioned "The WPA Intelligence poll tested the 'generic ballot' — would you vote for a generic Republican or a generic Democrat for Congress? — with both DeSantis and Trump at the top of the ticket. While a Trump-led GOP was tied on the generic ballot (44 percent to 44 percent), a DeSantis-led one was ahead by five points (47-42)."

Let's stipulate that there's a difference between Trump's policies and Trump's effect at the ballot-box. Trump's policies produced fantastic results. Trump's endorsements usually meant primary victories for GOP candidates. Trump's endorsements meant substantially less than success. David Strom's article highlights the Trump Problem:

In the 2022 midterms, the PAC spent $15 million to support Republican candidates in the key swing states of Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio and Nevada. Republicans lost Senate races in four out of those five states, with only Ohio Republican J.D. Vance securing a win.

It's worth noting that Ted Budd and Ron Johnson won their races, too, so Trump's record isn't quite as terrible.

In 2014, the year before Trump's upset victory, Republicans gained 9 U.S. Senate seats to retake control of the Senate. In 2016, Republicans lost 2 seats but still held their Senate majority. In 2018, Republicans picked up 2 U.S. Senate seats, thanks mostly to the Democrats' Kavanaugh Disaster. Still, Trump lost 40 seats in the U.S. House. Nancy Pelosi returned as Speaker.

We did poorly in the U.S. Senate in 2020 and 2022. It's worth noting that the economy was going strong in 2018, when Trump lost 40 seats in the House. Despite the strong economy, Republicans lost 40 seats in the House and were saved by the Democrats' Kavanaugh Disaster. Otherwise, we would've lost both chambers in 2018.

The lesson is simple: Donald Trump is a down-ticket drag on the GOP.

Let's compare that with what might be titled 'The DeSantis Effect.' While the Trump Red Wave turned into a nationwide trickle, the DeSantis Red Wave in the Free State of Florida washed Democrats out to sea. Rubio was expected to defeat Val Demings by 6-8 points. She lost by 16 points. DeSantis, the best governor in the U.S., won by 19 points. Republicans picked up 4 net U.S. House seats in Florida.

It isn't difficult to notice the difference between Trump's losing major elections and DeSantis winning in a landslide:

Florida isn't just where woke goes to die. It's where people reward great governors for a great economy, great schools and for standing up to woke corporations. By comparison, Trump's siding with a woke corporation that's trying to intimidate parents.

In 2020, Trump underperformed the GOP ticked in every battleground state in the U.S. In 2022, Gov. DeSantis outperformed expectations statewide while losing only 2 counties. Let's close by quoting Mr. Strom:

If you like how 2022 turned out, then listen to MAGA, Inc. They helped bring those results about. If you want something different, like winning, then perhaps it is time to recognize that their magic touch is a duplicate of Jim Cramer’s. When they speak, do the opposite of what they advise.