Washington Free Beacon editor in chief Matthew Continetti said on Sunday that the midterm election results show Republicans have work to do to win back certain voting blocs in order be successful in the 2020 presidential election.
"When you look back and see are midterms dispositive for the subsequent presidential? The answer is no. Do Republicans have work to do? Yes, because the terrain in terms of people has shifted," Continetti said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Independents, they narrowly backed Trump two years ago. Now they're for Democrats big time. You look at the suburbs. Again, Republicans competitive there two years ago, they are going toward the Democrats big time. White women, narrowly backed Trump two years ago, going to the Democrats this time."
"If Trump and the Republicans want to have a successful re-election in 2020, they need to get those groups back," Continetti continued.
Exit polls from last week's midterms show the Republican Party performed poorly among independent, suburban, and white women voters compared to 2016's presidential election.
According to CNN exit polls, Republicans and Democrats split the suburban vote with 49 percent each in 2018, whereas President Donald Trump beat Clinton by 4 percentage points in 2016. Fox News voter analysis shows Democrats outperformed the GOP in the suburban vote by 8 percent last week.
Fifty-two percent of independent voters supported Democrats compared to 42 percent who voted for Republicans in 2018. In 2016, Trump won independents by 4-point margin.
White women split their vote among Republican and Democratic candidates in 2018, whereas Trump beat Clinton among white women by 9 points two years ago.
Despite taking over the House in 2010, the Republicans' midterm success did not lead to a successful result in the presidential election two years later. Republicans won 63 House seats and 6 Senate seats in 2010, but faltered in 2012, losing several Senate and House seats.
The Democratic Party is on track to gain 36 House seats and lose up to two Senate seats once all of the votes are counted for the 2018 midterm elections.