Thoughts On The GOP's 2026 Inspiration Challenge

A conversation with the New York Times

Jun 12, 2026

The New York Times reached out to get my thoughts on where things stand. Here’s an excerpt:

Guida: Despite the lack of enthusiasm, you think Republicans are still confident. Why?
Domenech: Much of it comes from a belief that Democratic radicalism, particularly the various examples of what they view as a renewed cultural leftism in opposition to Trump during his first term, will play in their favor. Talarico is a good example of this — thanks to many past comments, some of which he’s distanced himself from, Republicans view him as representing a form of progressive Christianity that’s anathema to Texas voters.
But the real question is if that cultural shift is enough to keep Trump’s 2024 coalition together. He won by making inroads with minorities, particularly Hispanic voters. Republicans need to find a way to convince these voters that they’re the better answer on the economy, crime and border security than Democrats, or else they’ll be stuck with just loyalists at the polls.
Guida: Are there noncandidate Republicans in this cycle, particularly those who operate outside of Trump’s circle of attention, worth keeping an eye on? Someone like Gov. Brian Kemp or Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia?
Domenech: I admit that I don’t personally understand the idea of people being truly excited by politicians, but online Republicans tend to be most drawn to candidates running in solidly Democratic states without a real hope of victory.
California has gotten outsize attention this cycle for exactly that reason. Every consultant has an opinion on what their candidates can do to emulate Spencer Pratt without the losing aspect of it. And Steve Hilton has done an impressive job as a consultant turned candidate of adapting his message for California voters. But it’s safe to say nobody’s jumping up and down for any of these folks — though are California Democrats really excited about Xavier Becerra?
As for the general tone of the party, though, it’s notable how many significant members are headed to the exits, particularly from the House. Nancy Mace came in fifth in her attempt to win the South Carolina governorship. Representative Chip Roy of Texas, often a foil for the White House, lost his attorney-general runoff. All four Black Republican members of the House are headed for the exits. It’s a real shift. It’s not just on the G.O.P. side — I am definitely going to miss Jasmine Crockett.
Nancy Mace@NancyMace
Serving South Carolina has been the greatest honor of my life. Every vote I cast, every hearing I called, every fight I picked — it was always for you. I’ve seen what happens when good people stay quiet. And I’ve seen what happens when they don’t. I would choose the latter every
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Guida: You mentioned Nancy Mace. There are very few women G.O.P. candidates this year, and very few in the Trump cabinet. Should the party be more worried about the gender gap?
Domenech: With a few exceptions — such as Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee, Julia Letlow in Louisiana and Ashley Hinson in Iowa — the statewide candidates certainly skew more male than Republicans would like.
At the same time, there are ebbs and flows in how much attention the G.O.P. pays to these perennial recruitment issues. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was a strong recruiter of women and minority candidates, but he still ended up with an extremely narrow House majority.
Parties that lose midterms tend to learn lessons about this sort of thing. But Republicans still seem to think that, thanks to redistricting and their advantages in fund-raising, they could buck historical trends and hold on, perhaps even in the House. They’re just scared about gas prices. Personally, I’m skeptical.
Guida: In the meantime … the super PAC aligned with President Trump, MAGA Inc., is sitting on a $300 million war chest. The strategic team involved in previous Trump campaigns, including Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio, will have a lot of money to spend. What’s your sense of how and where they will spend it?
Domenech: The president’s political team is supremely confident in their ability to pick and choose candidates after a cycle where his endorsements proved decisive and where they believe that they emerged with a stronger slate of candidates than in recent cycles. They are likely to focus on the Midwest, so if you live in a Rust Belt or Great Plains state, get used to seeing political ads.
One outstanding question, though, is what will happen in Texas. After Paxton cruised to victory in the Senate primary runoff, there’s a general attitude among Washington Republicans that Texas should have to take care of Texas given Paxton’s past difficulties fund-raising. (As I noted on Fox, the attitude is “you break it, you bought it.”) But there’s a great deal of confidence that James Talarico is a weaker candidate than past statewide Democrats, and Paxton should still have enough energy to win in a red state without significant national help.
Guida: Finally, you cover politics, but you just said that you don’t personally get the idea of people being excited by politicians. Why is that?
Domenech: Politics is the art of deal-making and trade-offs. No politician is perfect; they’re all just men and women trying to do a job or make themselves rich. Some of them are better at it than others. Even the most noble politician will let you down eventually. Having lived through the heights of Barack Obama’s rise that was so truly thrilling for so many in my generation, and now witnessing the revisionist nostalgia for some friendly, more civil time in politics — as if the 1990s were just a comfortable blur — it’s healthier to believe in something deeper than an elected official.
Don’t treat politicians like some king, queen or savior. We are a nation of citizens, not subjects. America’s strength in our 250th year certainly isn’t going to be found in the halls of Congress. It’s the people outside this city who make this country great.

I hope you’ll read the whole thing.

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