Despite leading the GOP to a net loss of two seats in last week’s election, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair John Cornyn earned himself a promotion and is poised to take on the roll of minority whip in the upcoming Congress.
In a frank interview with POLITICO, Cornyn ascribed part of the blame to himself and the GOP campaign committee for dropping the ball in an election that looked promising for the Republican Party at the onset. Ultimately, though, he attributed the losses in winnable states, such as Indiana and Missouri, to weak candidates with limited mainstream appeal.
“What is the goal here? I think the goal is to elect principled conservatives in November, not just nominate somebody in the primary that has very little chance of getting elected in November,” the Texas senator said. “That doesn’t advance the conservative agenda because you have to be elected before you can govern.”
After suffering heavy scrutiny in for backing more establishment-oriented candidates in 2010, Cornyn took a more hands-off approach in 2012. Though Republicans picked up seven seats in the midterm election, some of Cornyn’s picks were defeated by Tea Party candidates in the primary, rendering both methods marginally unsuccessful.
Cornyn also admitted GOP analysts did a poor job of evaluating the competitiveness of certain races, particularly for the presidency.
“Our side was saying, ‘No way, no how, they [Democrats] can replicate 2008,’ when in fact they did a pretty good job of doing that in the battleground states,” Cornyn said. “So yes, I was surprised. But when I saw Gov. Romney not succeeding in places like Virginia and Pennsylvania, I knew it was going to be a long night.”
Cornyn called for members of his party to reconsider whether its worth investing in ideologically pure candidates, such as Missouri Rep. Todd Akin and Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock who both made questionable comments about rape and abortion. He said that philosophy will continue to cost the party seats.
Instead, he said the party needs candidates that are sound both tactically and on policy.
“How can we convey what I believe is the true image, that Republicans actually do care about people of all races, ethnicities, and classes in America?” Cornyn said.
He warned his colleagues that they, too, could face opposition from Tea Party-backed candidates in the 2014 election.
“I told my colleagues in 2012, ‘You are going to have a primary, you will have a primary.’ And some of them didn’t prepare or take it seriously. Some of them did,” Cornyn said. “So, I will take my advice and be prepared, and I expect to have one or more primary opponents. Sen. (Mitch) McConnell (R-Kentucky) and everybody up in 2014 will.”
Despite the admittedly disappointing results from this election, Cornyn said he sees his nomination for the second highest post in the Senate GOP leadership is reaffirmation of his efforts as chair of NRSC.
““I’m grateful that my colleagues just elected me [minority] whip, which I think is an indication that we did everything humanly possible to achieve a better outcome,” he said.
