By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Republicans lost ground in this week’s midterm elections because the party “got away from the American people,” not because of a historic defeat, in an interview aired on a Fox-affiliated radio broadcast.
Gingrich, who led the House GOP majority elected in 1994, is promoting a new book, “America’s Golden Age: Trumpism and the Era of Limitless Possibilities.”
“I was just wrong,” Gingrich said of his pre-election expectations. “It was a much bigger defeat than I expected.”
Gingrich blamed party leadership and political consultants, saying they were “incapable of learning” the lessons of his 1994 campaign and instead relied on “clever negative ads.” He said, “We had done a number of dumb things. We got punished for being dumb.”
Gingrich said this week’s result was the seventh-biggest defeat for a party since 1938 and said people should not panic over the losses.
Asked how Republicans lost ground broadly, Gingrich said, “How do you get far enough away from the American people that you lose every statewide race?” He cited Abraham Lincoln in making his point: “Without popular sentiment, nothing can succeed.”
Gingrich said the incoming Democratic majority plans to pursue investigations into the Trump administration, calling that effort central to Democrats’ agenda in the next Congress.
The broadcast segment ended before Gingrich finished answering a question about the 2028 presidential field.
