Latest news with #WisconsinHouse
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's base backs his trade war. But even MAGA wants a resolution ‘sooner rather than later.'
Some Republicans are putting an expiration date on how long they'll tolerate the economic fallout from Donald Trump's trade war. For now, they're eager to extend the president time to reshape the U.S. economy – and they're prepared to stomach higher costs as a consequence of steep tariffs on trading partners. But interviews with nearly three dozen Republican leaders and operatives in seven battlegrounds — from party chairs to strategists to state lawmakers — reveal a growing acknowledgement that economic shocks could hamper the party's prospects in the midterms. While many say they are strapping in for as long as it takes, several state party strategists and leaders predicted voters' patience with higher prices would last no longer than into summer, while others suggested he has a runway of about a year. 'No one is surprised, as Donald Trump has talked about unfair trade practices across the world for 30 years,' said Wisconsin House Speaker Robin Vos, who said he has started to pay tariffs on his own food packaging business. 'He talked about reciprocal tariffs literally since the day he was elected. But the hope is that the idea of enacting the tariffs will result in zero at the end, and that's where I think most people are optimistic to hopefully get it done sooner rather than later.' Or as Jonathan Felts, a North Carolina GOP consultant, put it, 'If the economy just completely tanks, then it's Political Science 101 that the incumbent is in trouble." While Felts said that 'a lot of people are willing to shoulder some short term pain,' he cautioned that 'when early voting starts, if you're going to McDonald's and there's no dollar menu left, that's a problem.' Trump's trade agenda has already rattled Washington and Wall Street, and it is also beginning to take a political toll. Trump's job approval ratings, exceeding 50 percent when he first took office,are now underwater. The public's mood about the economy has soured, with a majority of Americans in anEconomist/YouGov Poll this week saying the economy is getting worse. Trump is warring with Jerome Powell after the Federal Reserve chair warned tariffs will likely drive up prices. And even among Republican voters — who have stuck with Trump through criminal indictments, impeachment proceedings and his defeat in 2020 — Trump is showing some signs of weakness. In the YouGov survey, 85 percent of Republicans approved of the job Trump is doing, down 5 percentage points from the previous week. None of that is going unnoticed among Republicans in the battlegrounds. But the Republican leaders who spoke with POLITICO say the base for now remains fully behind the president's agenda. 'I've just seen price increases under Biden for four years with no end goal, at least this time there's a method to the madness,' said Todd Gillman, a Michigan Republican Party precinct chair. 'There's a pot of gold at the end of it.' The White House's aggressive posture on a range of issues, including trade, is what Republicans voted for. Still, Gillman, who described himself as a strong supporter of Trump's trade agenda, said that if the economy doesn't improve within a year, 'we're going to get slack in the midterms.' Vos, who describes himself as a 'free trader,' said he hopes deals will be struck with countries before the end of Trump's 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs he imposed on most U.S. trade partners. That view is broadly shared by local and state Republican leaders. Many cited the White House's claim that more than 100 counties have expressed interest in renegotiating trade deals with the U.S. as proof that Trump's strategy is working — and dismissed any criticism that the White House's trade agenda has been executed carelessly. Rather, they argue Trump has set the country on an upward trajectory by shattering longstanding trade relationships and escalating tensions with China. Their confidence in the White House comes even amid a brewing political backlash against the tariffs on Capitol Hill and warnings from economists that tariffs on China will hike prices of items like clothing, toys and electronics. Republicans are convinced that wild volatility in the market will subside and that prices, if they escalate again, will soon return to normal. 'If we can withstand 'shock and awe', it is my belief that the outcome will be very positive,' said Alex McColman, chair of the Lee County Republican Party in Georgia. 'Trump has a tough job and if all parties involved can join in, then we will win this chess match with countries that have been taking great advantage of the U.S.' Several GOP leaders who spoke with POLITICO were reluctant to put Trump on any sort of timeline for when voters should expect to see the economy surge. They blamed former President Joe Biden or others for economic problems so complex they said it's unreasonable to expect a turnaround anytime soon. On top of that, many are taking a recent drop in gas and egg prices as a sign that Trump is steering the economy in the right direction, even as those prices were impacted by a range of variables outside the president's control, such as oil production levels and bird flu outbreaks. 'It's not like turning a canoe, it's like turning a battleship,' said Michigan Republican Party Chair Jim Runestad. 'So it's not as simple as one lever is going to make all these changes. They're going to give him a big breadth of time to make sure that we fix this thing that is otherwise going to collapse.' In Pennsylvania, Trump's tariffs hold promise for workers in the cratered out steel industry, said Pennsylvania state Sen. Greg Rothman. He described Trump taking on countries dumping steel into the U.S. as 'worse than ripping a bandaid off.' 'Our industry has been dying for the last fifty years, so it was going to take sort of a more radical approach,' Rothman said. For Jesse Willard, chair of the Decatur County Republican Party in Georgia, Trump's campaign pledge to again enact steep tariffs on foreign countries was one of the reasons he voted for him. An employee for a defense manufacturing firm, Willard said he's hopeful Trump will restore the sector to what it once was when he first started working in it in the 1980s. 'In the short term it's going to be a little bit painful, but I'd much rather buy American than anything else,' Willard said. But the pain can't last forever, he said. 'If it takes six months, a year you may see a little bit of people grumbling a little,' Willard said. 'But if it takes more than a couple years, you're going to see people not being OK with that.'
Politico
19-04-2025
- Business
- Politico
Trump's base backs his trade war. But even MAGA wants a resolution ‘sooner rather than later.'
Some Republicans are putting an expiration date on how long they'll tolerate the economic fallout from Donald Trump's trade war. For now, they're eager to extend the president time to reshape the U.S. economy – and they're prepared to stomach higher costs as a consequence of steep tariffs on trading partners. But interviews with nearly three dozen Republican leaders and operatives in seven battlegrounds — from party chairs to strategists to state lawmakers — reveal a growing acknowledgement that economic shocks could hamper the party's prospects in the midterms. While many say they are strapping in for as long as it takes, several state party strategists and leaders predicted voters' patience with higher prices would last no longer than into summer, while others suggested he has a runway of about a year. 'No one is surprised, as Donald Trump has talked about unfair trade practices across the world for 30 years,' said Wisconsin House Speaker Robin Vos, who said he has started to pay tariffs on his own food packaging business. 'He talked about reciprocal tariffs literally since the day he was elected. But the hope is that the idea of enacting the tariffs will result in zero at the end, and that's where I think most people are optimistic to hopefully get it done sooner rather than later.' Or as Jonathan Felts, a North Carolina GOP consultant, put it, 'If the economy just completely tanks, then it's Political Science 101 that the incumbent is in trouble.' While Felts said that 'a lot of people are willing to shoulder some short term pain,' he cautioned that 'when early voting starts, if you're going to McDonald's and there's no dollar menu left, that's a problem.' Trump's trade agenda has already rattled Washington and Wall Street, and it is also beginning to take a political toll. Trump's job approval ratings, exceeding 50 percent when he first took office, are now underwater . The public's mood about the economy has soured, with a majority of Americans in an Economist/YouGov Poll this week saying the economy is getting worse . Trump is warring with Jerome Powell after the Federal Reserve chair warned tariffs will likely drive up prices . And even among Republican voters — who have stuck with Trump through criminal indictments, impeachment proceedings and his defeat in 2020 — Trump is showing some signs of weakness. In the YouGov survey, 85 percent of Republicans approved of the job Trump is doing, down 5 percentage points from the previous week. None of that is going unnoticed among Republicans in the battlegrounds. But the Republican leaders who spoke with POLITICO say the base for now remains fully behind the president's agenda. 'I've just seen price increases under Biden for four years with no end goal, at least this time there's a method to the madness,' said Todd Gillman, a Michigan Republican Party precinct chair. 'There's a pot of gold at the end of it.' The White House's aggressive posture on a range of issues, including trade, is what Republicans voted for. Still, Gillman, who described himself as a strong supporter of Trump's trade agenda, said that if the economy doesn't improve within a year, 'we're going to get slack in the midterms.' Vos, who describes himself as a 'free trader,' said he hopes deals will be struck with countries before the end of Trump's 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs he imposed on most U.S. trade partners. That view is broadly shared by local and state Republican leaders. Many cited the White House's claim that more than 100 counties have expressed interest in renegotiating trade deals with the U.S. as proof that Trump's strategy is working — and dismissed any criticism that the White House's trade agenda has been executed carelessly. Rather, they argue Trump has set the country on an upward trajectory by shattering longstanding trade relationships and escalating tensions with China. Their confidence in the White House comes even amid a brewing political backlash against the tariffs on Capitol Hill and warnings from economists that tariffs on China will hike prices of items like clothing, toys and electronics. Republicans are convinced that wild volatility in the market will subside and that prices, if they escalate again, will soon return to normal. 'If we can withstand 'shock and awe', it is my belief that the outcome will be very positive,' said Alex McColman, chair of the Lee County Republican Party in Georgia. 'Trump has a tough job and if all parties involved can join in, then we will win this chess match with countries that have been taking great advantage of the U.S.' Several GOP leaders who spoke with POLITICO were reluctant to put Trump on any sort of timeline for when voters should expect to see the economy surge. They blamed former President Joe Biden or others for economic problems so complex they said it's unreasonable to expect a turnaround anytime soon. On top of that, many are taking a recent drop in gas and egg prices as a sign that Trump is steering the economy in the right direction, even as those prices were impacted by a range of variables outside the president's control, such as oil production levels and bird flu outbreaks. 'It's not like turning a canoe, it's like turning a battleship,' said Michigan Republican Party Chair Jim Runestad. 'So it's not as simple as one lever is going to make all these changes. They're going to give him a big breadth of time to make sure that we fix this thing that is otherwise going to collapse.' In Pennsylvania, Trump's tariffs hold promise for workers in the cratered out steel industry, said Pennsylvania state Sen. Greg Rothman. He described Trump taking on countries dumping steel into the U.S. as 'worse than ripping a bandaid off.' 'Our industry has been dying for the last fifty years, so it was going to take sort of a more radical approach,' Rothman said. For Jesse Willard, chair of the Decatur County Republican Party in Georgia, Trump's campaign pledge to again enact steep tariffs on foreign countries was one of the reasons he voted for him. An employee for a defense manufacturing firm, Willard said he's hopeful Trump will restore the sector to what it once was when he first started working in it in the 1980s. 'In the short term it's going to be a little bit painful, but I'd much rather buy American than anything else,' Willard said. But the pain can't last forever, he said. 'If it takes six months, a year you may see a little bit of people grumbling a little,' Willard said. 'But if it takes more than a couple years, you're going to see people not being OK with that.'
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrat Rebecca Cooke launches bid to unseat Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin battleground seat
WASHINGTON – Rebecca Cooke is hoping the third time really is the charm. The Eau Claire Democrat will launch another campaign to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the state's 3rd Congressional District after losing her previous bid by just under three points this past November. It will be her third consecutive run for the western Wisconsin House seat. 'I think there needs to be a check on this administration's worst instincts, and Derrick Van Orden is somebody that is like a talking head for those folks,' Cooke told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week. 'I think that we need to hold people accountable and really put their feet to the fire.' She plans to formally announce her campaign at a farm in Chippewa Falls on Tuesday morning. The move officially kicks off the 2026 race for Wisconsin's tightest battleground district. Cooke, who fell to Van Orden by about 2.8 points last cycle but ran ahead of the top of her ticket in the process, is the only Democrat to announce a run so far. She first ran for the seat in 2022 but placed second in the Democratic primary that year. Cooke, 37, told the Journal Sentinel this week that she believes key issues like health care costs and women's reproductive rights 'only are going to get exemplified' under the first two years of the Trump administration. She pointed to recent cuts to agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development and the new administration's tariffs on top trading partners as developments that will significantly impact Wisconsin farmers and businesses. More: Tony Evers slams congressional Republicans for not pushing back on Trump tariffs Last year, Cooke campaigned as a moderate Democrat seeking to take on 'Big Ag' and make health care more accessible. Those issues are still prominent, she said. 'I think there's just a finer point to that, and I know they're not going to get better,' she said of her top campaign issues. 'In fact, they will probably get worse.' Another factor motivating Cooke is her performance this past November. She gained about 9,000 more raw votes in the district than former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the 3rd District to President Donald Trump by 7.4 points, and about 5,000 more votes than Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who lost the region to Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde by about 4 points, though won statewide. Van Orden and Republicans, for their part, have noted Van Orden defeated Cooke in 2024 by a nearly identical margin to his victory over Democratic state Sen. Brad Pfaff in 2022 — about 11,000 votes — despite a higher turnout last year. A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee this week called Cooke 'a deeply radical and sleazy political activist who remains out-of-touch with Western Wisconsin.' 'Wisconsinites rejected proven loser Rebecca Cooke last year and will do the same in 2026,' said Zach Bannon, the NRCC spokesman. Still, some Democrats have pointed to Cooke's November performance as evidence the district is in play for the party in 2026. Top national Democratic groups like House Majority PAC have signaled they'll continue to focus on the 3rd Congressional District after spending millions more than their Republican counterparts there in 2024. The looming question now is whether other Democrats plan to jump into the race. Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge told the Journal Sentinel this week she is seriously considering a run, but no other Wisconsin Democrat has publicly expressed interest in running for the seat. A source close to Pfaff, who defeated Cooke in the 2022 Democratic primary, told the Journal Sentinel that the Onalaska Democrat initially ruled out another run for the district but has since received encouragement to mount a new campaign from others in the party. Stevens Point state Rep. Katrina Shankland, who lost to Cooke in last year's heated Democratic primary, said she will not run again this cycle. Regardless, Cooke is seen as a front-runner in the race. 'When someone comes off of a strong race and is able to raise a lot of money and get a lot of endorsements, they clearly are in the lead position to run,' said Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, one of Van Orden's loudest detractors who initially supported Shankland last cycle. 'I understand people want to have their strongest candidate forward,' Pocan said. 'I think Becca proved to be a strong candidate.' Cooke raised more than $6.3 million last cycle to Van Orden's $7.6 million, according to Federal Election Commission reports, and she gained the support of members of Congress like the congressional moderate Blue Dog Coalition. A number of top Democrats in both Wisconsin and Washington, including those in leadership positions, encouraged her to consider another run following her loss. This week, Cooke said Democratic unity will be 'critically important' in 2026, noting she spent millions in last year's bitter Democratic primary that saw Cooke and Shankland trade public jabs. She slammed Van Orden for not scheduling in-person town halls to hear from constituents and said getting into the race early 'allows us to check him and to check this administration.' 'It takes time to build a movement,' Cooke said. 'And it's something that we've been doing for some time.' This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Democrat Rebecca Cooke launches bid to unseat Derrick Van Orden
