Hackery & crackpotery

The GOP needs more sensible candidates

For a party that has done enormously well over the past decade, Republicans have struggled mightily to win Senate seats. It’s not so much that the Democrats have gotten the better of them, but rather that they have found new and interesting ways to defeat themselves.

The GOP’s nincompoopery was on full display Tuesday in Alabama, when Republican Roy Moore lost narrowly to Democrat Doug Jones in the special election to replace Jeff Sessions, whom President Donald Trump named attorney general.

Alabama is one of the most Republican states in the country, so this should have been an easy win for the GOP. But Mr. Moore was a disaster of a candidate. Apart from his many controversial positions, and his two-time removal from the Alabama Supreme Court, he was credibly accused of sexually assaulting an underage girl in the 1970s. This is how a liberal Democrat like Jones could win in a place like Alabama.

Going back over the last 10 years, it is amazing to consider the number of races that the GOP has lost because of awful candidates. In 2006 it was Conrad Burns of Montana. In 2008 it was Ted Stevens in Alaska. In 2010 it was Ken Buck of Colorado, Sharron Angle of Nevada and Christine O’Donnell of Missouri. In 2012 it was Rick Berg of North Dakota, Todd Akin of Missouri and Richard Mourdock of Indiana. And now we can add Roy Moore to the list.

The problems have varied. In some cases it was the establishment that supported a flawed incumbent, as happened with Mr. Stevens and Mr. Burns. Other times, it was anti-establishment voters choosing candidates who lack crossover appeal, as with Ms. O’Donnell and Ms. Angle. The Republicans have managed to win a few of these seats back, but by and large it has given the Democrats a crucial edge in the upper chamber. With better candidates in these races, the GOP would have closer to a 60-40 majority rather than the ever-so-slender 51-49 advantage they hold (once Mr. Jones issworn in).

With Mr. Moore’s loss, Democrats stand a real shot at taking the Senate next year. Only a third of Senate seats are up for re-election every cycle, so some years the geography favors Republicans or Democrats. In 2018, it works heavily against the Democrats, who have to defend nearly two dozen seats, many in Republican states. The GOP, on the other hand, has to defend only a handful of seats. But with Mr. Moore having been defeated, Democrats need to win a net of only two seats. That will be tough, but. given Mr. Trump’s anemic job-approval numbers, definitely doable.

The Republican Party’s struggle to field good Senate candidates illustrates a deep ailment, despite its many victories. Republican primary voters are not performing their due diligence in vetting candidates, so are offering up to the general electorate some real duds. They are no doubt frustrated by the status quo, but too often bad candidates have exploited these grievances, ultimately to the advantage of Democrats.

The party establishment, on the other hand, has badly miscalculated, including in Alabama. During the primary it went all in for Luther Strange at the expense of Rep. Mo Brooks, guessing wrongly that Mr. Strange (the sitting senator, appointed to fill in for Mr. Sessions) could topple Mr. Moore in the runoff.

It speaks to the internal dissension in Republican ranks that party leaders in Washington, D.C., were quietly rooting for Mr. Jones to defeat Mr. Moore in Alabama, despite the fact that it imperiled their majority. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell simply did not want anything to do with an erratic firebrand with serious ethical baggage. But that is who the Alabama primary voters foisted upon the electorate.

Ultimately, the Republican Party needs to find a middle ground, nominating sensible candidates without heavy baggage who can implement the party’s agenda. Too much establishment hackery and too much grass-roots crackpotery have conspired to weaken the party’s standing in the Senate, giving Democrats a real chance to retake the chamber next year.

Jay Cost, a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard, lives in Butler County (JCost241@gmail.com, Twitter @JayCostTWS).