GOP Senator Says ‘Old’ Republican Party Is ‘Dead,’ Calls for Major Changes

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) (L) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) (R) listens during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on April 2, 2019. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Republicans need to “build something new” after failing to retake the Senate majority following the 2022 midterm elections, a GOP senator said.

Democrats picked up a key Senate seat in Nevada after Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt after numerous news outlets called the race in Masto’s favor on Saturday. Days before that, GOP candidate Mehmet Oz conceded to Democrat John Fetterman, while outlets called the race for Arizona’s Senate seat in favor of incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).

“The old party is dead. Time to bury it. Build something new,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote on social media. A day before, Hawley said Republican Senate leaders are failing to back initiatives that are supported by their voters.

“Washington Republicanism lost big Tuesday night. When your ‘agenda’ is cave to Big Pharma on insulin, cave to [Sen. Chuck] Schumer on gun control & Green New Deal (‘infrastructure’), and tease changes to Social Security and Medicare, you lose,” Hawley wrote over the weekend.

Hawley, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) reportedly circulated a letter calling for Republicans to postpone their Senate leadership vote. It is presumed that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is vying to reclaim his Senate leadership position, although he has not responded to the three Republicans’ letter.

“I don’t know why Senate GOP would hold a leadership vote for the next Congress before this election is finished. We have a runoff in [Georgia] ... are they saying that doesn’t matter? Don’t disenfranchise,” Hawley wrote late last week in response to Rubio’s statement that the vote needs to be held on a later date.

Some, including former President Donald Trump, called for McConnell to be ousted as leader of the GOP in the Senate. Earlier this year, McConnell indicated that he would win his leadership reelection.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) walks to the Senate Chambers in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, on Sept. 27, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

“He is the WORST!” Trump wrote on Truth Social of McConnell.

Strange Results

Ahead of the midterm elections, numerous polls showed Laxalt ahead of Masto by as many as 5 percentage points. Some forecasters claimed there would be a “red wave” in Congress, buoyed by dissatisfaction over the U.S. economy, inflation, gas prices, and President Joe Biden’s low approval rating.

As it was revealed that Republicans would not be able to gain as many seats in the Senate and House, there have been efforts to blame the party’s performance on its leaders, including McConnell, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. Some have also blamed the losses on President Donald Trump after some Senate candidates that he endorsed didn’t prevail—while simultaneously elevating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who won reelection by about 20 percentage points last week.

For the House races, Republicans won by about 6 million more votes over Democrat candidates but lost in many races. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an Epoch Times contributor, said the final result is bizarre to him.

“I’ve never been as wrong as I was this year,” Gingrich said last week. “It makes me challenge every model I’m aware of, and realize that I have to really stop and spend a good bit of time thinking and trying to put it all together.”