Welcome to Thursday’s edition of Washington Secrets. If a friend sent you this and you’d like to sign up, CLICK HERE. Today, we bring you a memo sent to Republican candidates urging them to set out a clear economic message or face a midterm wipeout. Plus, we had fun with Mike Pence and David Rubenstein, D.C.’s newest odd couple …
Socialist messaging on affordability is resonating with voters, and Republicans must find their own populist economic policies to avoid disaster in the midterm elections.
That is the stark warning to candidates in a memo that the American Principles Project is circulating to candidates.
The strategy document, shared with Secrets, explains that culture war issues — such as attacking what it calls the “left’s gender radicalism” — poll well with voters, but will not be enough to save the House or the Senate.
It criticizes Republicans for a sales pitch to voters on the economy that is “at best unclear.”
“I think this is existential,” said Terry Schilling, president of APP. “I really do.”
APP focuses on promoting socially conservative public policies centered on the family. And Schilling was an informal adviser to JD Vance before he became vice president.
His PAC was the first to run ads on trans athletes in women’s sports in 2019, but he said the messaging had to change as Americans worry about gas prices, paying for college, and healthcare.
“To successfully fend off Democrat attacks, GOP candidates must be able to articulate their own agenda on how they plan to address families’ economic concerns,” the memo says. “If voters are not provided with an alternative, there is a serious risk that the false promises of socialism will continue to gain ground—and not just in this upcoming midterm.”
This time around, strategists believe the best approach is to turn the midterm into a “contrast election,” avoiding the danger of a referendum on a president whose approval ratings are at historic lows.
And while Republicans have found a rich vein to mine of Democrats espousing radical socialist views, candidates promising vegan campaigns, or campaigning with anti-Israel podcaster Hasan Piker, or promoting gender-affirming surgeries, the memo suggests they are not keeping up their end of the contrast.
“We’re doing great on fighting the Democrats on the culture war and showing just how crazy they are, but right now we’re not appealing enough to working class families and young people, and that’s a big problem,” Schilling said. “We can grow our base of persuadable voters immensely if we just care and start addressing the economic concerns of working families and young people.”
The memo says Republicans face “significant headwinds” because they hold the White House and are almost certain to suffer losses.
“But even at this late hour, the past need not be prologue,” it says.
Transgender issues still poll well for Republicans.
The memo lays out how messages on Democrats’ support for men in women’s sports and spaces shifted the margin up to 6.6 percentage points towards the GOP, when the group tested them. And new messaging, connecting Democrats’ opposition to mental health treatment for gender dysphoria with violence carried out by mentally distressed individuals who identify as transgender, was just as persuasive.
But that is not enough.
“Republicans must also make the case to families on what they plan to do to help improve their economic standing,” it concludes. “To win in 2026, GOP candidates will need to both highlight Democrats’ cultural radicalism while also proposing a compelling economic alternative.”
Schilling is not alone in his warning.
David McIntosh, president of Club for Growth, said voters were less focused on trans issues this year.
“The energy for that was higher in ’24 than it is now, and I think the reason for that is not that people care less about the issue itself, it’s more that they care a lot more about the economic issues,” he said during a lunchtime briefing, over slices of steak and sliders.
Schilling said he was realistic about likely midterm losses, but that Republicans were losing a chance to lay down a clear marker with positive messaging about their plans.
He contrasted that with the way that Democrats were promising “everything under the sun”. Abdul el Sayed, he said, was running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, by promising that Medicare for All was going to pay for sex changes for children.
“He was completely comfortable, completely confident in talking about this. That’s an incredibly unpopular strategy,” he said. “Working families don’t want to pay for this. They don’t want kids getting it. But he’s saying it because he’s getting across the message that he cares.”
You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, who you can reach at [email protected] with your comments, story tips, and suggestions.
Another DC odd couple
After Steve Bannon and Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday, there’s a new unlikely double act in town.
Mike Pence, the former vice president, made an appearance at the Economic Club of Washington to talk about his new book, where he was interviewed on stage by noted non-conservative David Rubenstein, the private equity billionaire and philanthropist.
The result was knockabout fun, with Rubenstein repeatedly teeing up Pence with awkward questions, only for the vice president to deliver the punchlines. They began as they went on.
Rubenstein: “Tomorrow, you just reminded me is Constitution Day. What do you think about the U.S. Constitution in terms of honoring the way it’s written?
Pence: (LONG PAUSE) “David Rubenstein, it is great to see you.” (LAUGHTER)
Pence quickly went on to talk about the “greatest charter” ever written and his role in certifying the result of the 2020 election, despite the pressure of President Donald Trump and the thousands of people who marched on the U.S. Capitol.
Rubenstein is a Washington figure and former Jimmy Carter administration official with a long history of supporting institutions and causes associated with the liberal establishment. But he has made clear that he deeply respects Pence for resisting Trump after the 2020 election, and they have appeared together in the past.
Their conversation at the Ritz-Carlton hotel made it clear that both saw Jan. 6, 2021, as the defining point of Pence’s vice presidency and his life. Yet Rubenstein couldn’t help but needle Pence on the fact that he was certifying his own defeat that day.
Rubenstein: “What is it like to read the tally when you’re reading that you lost? Is that not the most unpleasant experience you had, or?”
Pence: “OK, I prefer it the other way.” (LAUGHTER)
And the former VP managed to get his own back at one point when the subject turned to marriage.
Pence: “By the way, I understand you’ve got some news that people can hear.”
Rubenstein: (ALMOST SQUIRMING) “Well, I haven’t had been as successful as you. You’ve been married for how many years?”
Pence: “We’ve been married 41 years. How many days have you been married?”
Rubenstein: *AWKWARDLY) “About 90 days.”
Rubenstein, 77, married Caryn Zucker, 61, in a surprise private ceremony in June. He quickly turned the conversation back to Pence.
Shall I tell him, or will you?
Trump has been very clear about his position on artificial intelligence this past week. Any sort of guardrails are out, lest they allow China to steal a march on the U.S.
So where will his vice president come down? JD Vance knows his role is to stay loyal to his boss, and he comes from the tech bro world. But he also has one eye on 2028, when AI and data centers will likely be one of the defining issues.
So his comments on Anthropic to the All-In podcast (hosted by Silicon Valley venture capitalists) have been the subject of intense scrutiny.
“What I would say to those people: ‘If you’re building Frankenstein, stop.’ Or maybe build, you know … if the cat is out of the bag … then build the defensive mechanism against Frankenstein.”
Which is odd, because Vance seems exactly the sort of person who would correct someone else muddling up Dr. Frankenstein and his monster.
Lunchtime reading
The last day at the Kennedy Center: Security guards were stationed by areas already cordoned off with red tape and “Do Not Enter” signs, including near where center officials said a portion of ceiling had fallen during storms and scattered debris on the floor.
The Ed Sheeran I know will be reeling from this political nightmare: “Sheeran’s mistake (so obvious in retrospect) was to invite long-time friend Macklemore along for the ride. Honestly, you might have thought someone in management could have seen this coming.”
