Republicans struggle in elections when President Donald Trump’s “magic” is not on the ballot, former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., told Newsmax on Wednesday.
Santorum appeared in-studio on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America” and said Trump’s name not being on the ballot Tuesday hurt the GOP in the Virginia and New Jersey governor races.
“The fact is Trump wasn’t on the ballot,” Santorum told co-hosts Marc Lotter and Sharla McBride. “Since 2016, anytime Trump isn’t on the ballot, Republicans don’t do well.”
In New Jersey, Santorum emphasized that Democrat Mikie Sherrill’s defeat of Republican Jack Ciattarelli was linked to lackluster turnout among the Trump base and poor GOP candidate efforts.
“There are people who vote for Donald Trump, who don’t vote for Republicans,” he said.
“Trump has that magic. And unless he [can] start waving some wands to get other people to these people that are loyal to him, to be loyal to folks that help support him, to do what he needs to do, he’s going to have a hard time in Washington, D.C., in the next three years.”
Santorum also discussed democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City mayor race with strong backing.
“Mamdani is now the face of the Democratic Party,” Santorum said, warning that progressive New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who backed Mamdani, is positioning herself for a 2028 presidential run.
“Mamdani quoted Eugene Debs, founder of the American Socialist Party,” Santorum said. “This isn’t radical fringe. This is the mainstream of the left.”
He argued the left and Democrat elites unanimously support this agenda, raising the stakes for conservatives.
Santorum also said Tuesday’s election results were “completely predictable.”
“It’s an off-year election after a presidential election where the Republican wins. In New Jersey and Virginia, historically, the Democrats win. When a Democrat wins [the White House], historically in New Jersey and Virginia, Republicans either win or do a lot better,” he said.
“The Democrats outspent the Republicans dramatically in both [the Virginia and New Jersey] races. … The government shutdown and DOGE [the Department of Government Efficiency], particularly in Virginia, was really a very big negative.”
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