RNC: GOP Candidates Will Win If They Focus on Economy, Crime

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel speaks during the Trump Victory press conference in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., on Nov. 6, 2020. Elaine Cromie/Getty Images

The Republican National Committee (RNC) urged GOP candidates on  Sept. 13 to focus on the economy and rising crime with just two months to go before the 2022 midterms.

A memo sent out (pdf) by the RNC, dated Sept. 13, states that “Democrats and the national media are determined to try and make abortion the top issue ahead of the midterms, however, the media is not on our side, and we do not answer to them but to voters.”

Its polling shows that 66 percent of voters blame Biden for their economic struggles. Only 36 percent of voters who blamed things such as pent-up demand or corporate greed for such struggles back Republicans, the RNC said.

“Voters have made clear this election is largely about the economy and crime,” the memo reads, citing a poll that found that 55 percent said “rising prices” are more important than abortion.

“Winning this issue is more nuanced than simply pointing out rising prices and the flailing economy. Republicans need to finish their sentences to bring along the 20 million voters who are unsure who to blame and the 52 million who blame corporate greed and pent-up demand.”

The memo comes as the Dow Jones slumped on Sept. 13, with technology shares taking the biggest hit, after data show that monthly consumer prices unexpectedly rose in August. The Labor Department’s consumer price index report shows that the monthly inflation index gained 0.1 percent in August from July, against an expectation of a 0.1 percent dip.

That came several weeks after Biden signed into law the Democrat-backed “Inflation Reduction Act,” which ostensibly was designed to deal with rising inflation.

Crime

The committee stressed that “crime and safety” are also a top issue for voters for the 2022 midterms, saying that a poll found that “Republicans led Democrats by 16 points on the issue of crime.”

More voters blamed soft-on-crime policies rather than gun laws for rising crime, according to the RNC memo.

A total of 45 million voters said the issue of crime will have a major effect on their vote, and 17 million said that it’s one of their top issues, the memo notes.

“While Biden and out-of-touch Democrats refuse to address the economic peril they created, voters have made it abundantly clear that this election is about the economy and crime,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement about the messaging strategy. “Meanwhile, Republican candidates are meeting voters where they are and discussing the issues they care about, from the economy to crime and safety.”

Democratic strategists have noted serious political headwinds amid high inflation and pessimism. Nevertheless, they’ve claimed that Biden has won major legislative victories on key issues.

“Republicans haven’t taken advantage of the bad political environment. And they punted on having any agenda or getting anything done,” Biden pollster John Anzalone told The Associated Press earlier this month. “Historically, this should be a 30- or 40-seat win by Republicans. The entire Republican Party has been one big mistake for the past four or five months.”

Reuters contributed to this report.