What’s With These GOP Senate Candidates?

This week’s Dispatch Live, which is a weekly live stream for Dispatch members only, ran ...

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This week’s Dispatch Live, which is a weekly live stream for Dispatch members only, ran into some issues because Substack was completely down on Tuesday. So, because most members did not get to hear it we are offering it in its entirety as The Dispatch Podcast. If you’re not a member of The Dispatch and liked what you heard here, click the link below to join so you can tune into Dispatch Live weekly on Tuesdays at 8 pm ET.

In this episode, David, Declan, Andrew, and Audrey discuss the Senate GOP candidates for the midterm elections, the latest in the Mar-a-Lago search, and the chances of DeSantis 2024.

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  1. Avatar photo
    WALL-E

    One Senate race that rarely comes up in any conversation (and disappointingly was not mentioned in this conversation) is New Hampshire. The Republicans have not had their primary, which is September 13, but is Maggie Hassan such a lock that people keep overlooking this? New Hampshire is a weird state with a libertarian streak, and if economic issues remain important, it seems to me a Republican nominee (I think Don Bolduc is the likely candidate) will have a real shot.
    Hopefully the Dispatch team acknowledges this race at some point in the future.

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  2. General Darden

    @David @Declan @Andrew @Audrey: David expressed horror at a recent Oz campaign mention of Fetterman's stroke. Question: how does it get mentioned? What is appropriate? Let's get to the core issue: is he physically up to the job? Do Pennsylvanians (and I count myself as a longtime former resident) know that he cannot piece a sentence together in a logically coherent fashion? If he maintains a no-debate stance, there won't be public airing of that necessarily. WE all know stroke victims: there ARE varying levels of recovery. In his case, what are they? It would seem to me that Oz, as an outspoken media MD, of all people, has credibility to ask these questions. Forget the snark about eating more crudites to avoid another stroke. Ask the simple questions: where is he in his recovery? Can he speak without mental confusion? And then ask Pennsylvanians, is this what you want? That all seems fair - very fair. Where am I wrong? To have all this gossip behind the scenes with media pundits all stating he sure doesn't seem right: it seems so disingenuous. Just state the obvious: he unfortunately had an arrhythmia and suffered a stroke. He is impaired at the moment. It doesn't take a lot of observation -- but it is not unloving nor ridiculing. It is fact. Let people see him.

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      Declan Garvey vertical-nib Author

      It's a 100% valid question, but in my opinion, there's a much better way to address it than the Oz campaign did, which was "If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn't have had a major stroke and wouldn't be in the position of having to lie about it constantly."

      How about:

      "John Fetterman hasn't demonstrated a full recovery from his recent stroke by maintaining a vigorous campaign schedule, and although I wish him well in his recovery, I have serious concerns about his ability to do the job--and I think Pennsylvanians should too."

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      1. General Darden

        I agree. Or have ordinary people with relatives who have had a stroke share what they see and how they relate to it. Just make it about what it is: policies aside, Pennsylvania needs a strong advocate, and right now, John Fetterman is not physically strong. Avoid the snark, Wegners/Wegmans mentions, and elite discussions of pronunciation of crudites. Play to your strength: medical knowledge.

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  3. James Angelichio

    Any debate with Trump will quickly devolve into a mud slinging contest. And, as the old saying goes, “Remember when you get down in the mud with a pig, the pig likes it”.

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  4. Jared Manly

    My opinion :The dispatch crew had a rare clean miss on that TopGov ad….I think they misread that.

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  5. Avatar photo
    Patrick O'Rouke

    All of this DeSantis or Trump talk depresses me and makes me want to pull a D ballot in March 2024 to try to pick a sane alternative.

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  6. Avatar photo
    Simon Dodd

    It's true that a bunch of crazy people have been told to expect a red wave. It's also true that no red wave will appear; indeed, red may receive a drubbing, compared to expectations. But why isn't it obvious that there will be be no reckoning, or even a round of finger-pointing? Instead, bet on "doubling down on crazy?" They're going to take the shortest, straightest path to resolving the cognitive dissonance, which is buying even harder and even deeper into the elections-are-stolen narrative into which they've already bought. If they lose, it will be taken as proof that they were right, and the idea that these people are capable of rational, sober analysis leading to the conclusion that they were wrong is like thinking you can argue with a forest fire.

    People keep making the same mistake they made in 2016: "At last, *this* will be the end of Trump." The same mistake they made throughout the Trump administration: "At last, *this* will be the end of Trump." The same mistake they made after the 2016 election and which they've been making on a monthly basis ever since: "At last, *this* will be the end of Trump." It was a sad delusion by 2017, pathetic by 2020... There's no excuse for it in 2022. They aren't going to detach from him. They can't. There will be no reckoning, as would happen in a sane party. It's not a party any more. It's a cult. Cultists don't wake up, they drink the kool-aid.

    The GOP can't be saved, it must be destroyed and superseded. I don't know how many times I have to say this before people get it.

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  7. Avatar photo
    Octávio Lima

    It is good to hear from the young people at The Dispatch.

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    Taylor D. Howe

    Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s always been my understanding that a president and vice president cannot come from the same state. Since Trump is now a resident of Florida, doesn’t that mean that DeSantis could not be his VP?

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    1. Avatar photo
      Patrick O'Rouke

      They can, but they would have to forfeit the EVs of that state. Wouldn’t be a huge problem if it was a Dick/Liz Cheney ticket. Not so viable if both guys are from Florida.

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