They have to follow through, Marc Lotter, the chief communications officer for America First Policy Institute, said on American Family Radio Tuesday.
Trump carried 30 states and swept key battlegrounds Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. He finished with 312 electoral votes to Kamala Harris’ 226 and won the popular vote by almost 2.3 million ballots.
Republicans won the Senate and House, too, though neither by excessive margins.
As Trump fills out his cabinet and other key positions, the party faces the challenge of filling seats vacated by Republicans taking spots on Trump’s team.
“It’s time to start to see the change whether it’s in the Senate or the House of Representatives. We’ve got to usher in a new level of leadership that we may not have seen before,” Lotter told show host Jenna Ellis. “This is a very unique opportunity for Donald Trump to put his stamp on the party long after he has actually left office.”
Lotter, who previously worked on the Trump-Pence campaign in 2020, said Trump’s pick of J.D. Vance as a young conservative vice president signals his intent to secure the landscape.
In the Dakotas, where North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will both depart, Republican lieutenant governors will complete unexpired terms each time.
Burgum has been nominated for Sec. of the Interior, Noem for Sec. of Homeland Security. Both positions require Senate confirmation.
In Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine will appoint a replacement for Vance in the Senate, perhaps popular Ohio Sec. of State Frank LaRose.
Whoever DeWine appoints will have to be in near-constant campaign mode to hold the seat. The pick will face a special election in 2026 to remain in office then will go before voters in 2028 in search of a full six-year term, Cleveland.com reports.
A Trump in the U.S. Senate?
In Florida, Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of the president-elect, has been mentioned as a possible pick of Gov. Ron DeSantis to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate. Rubio is Trump’s pick for Sec. of State.
Lara Trump on Sunday night resigned her position as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
Lara Trump would be a strong, strategic appointment, Lotter said, because she is an "America First patriot" in a seat Democrats will target in 2026.
"Florida is not a cheap state to run in," he advised. "So the nominee is ultimately going to have to be able to raise a large sum of money in a very quick time period. I think Lara’s time, not only as the RNC co-chair, but on the 2020 and 2016 campaigns, puts her in a very strong position to be able to do that.”
As in Ohio, whoever DeSantis picks will face a special election in 2026.
Lara Trump’s exit from the RNC paves the way for Michael Whatley to take on a greater leadership role and for Trump to influence who steps into Whatley’s position.
“This is setting the stage for that next generation of leadership, letting them hit the ground running. Technically, Marco Rubio still needs to resign, and so once that happens, then the wheels go in motion for that position to be filled,” Lotter said.
The Senate is clearly on Lara Trump’s mind. In a Fox News interview last month, Trump said she would be “honored to serve” the state in which she’s lived for the last 3 ½ years.
She went on to praise DeSantis’ work in Florida.
“Don’t forget: two Presidential elections ago, we were considering Florida to be a swing state. Now it’s solid red," she said. "You’ve had so much movement down to Florida, and I would say it’s because of the great leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis."
DeSantis, a term-limited governor, faces a political balancing act with the choice that could impact his opportunities as his time in Tallahassee concludes in 2026.
He was Trump’s chief rival in the brief GOP primary season before Trump’s ascension became a foregone conclusion. The two seem to have reconciled, but for political opponents, Trump’s political doghouse is never far away.
In the grand scheme of things, Trump received a mandate from voters. If he can implement his plans, Republicans could see gains in the midterms, Lotter said.
Prediction: Failure will create backlash
As he eyes the political landscape, Lotter said voters are expecting Trump's agenda to be implemented, especially securing the U.S. border, lowering prices, and dealing with dangerous world events.
If the agenda isn’t implemented, or is presented in a watered-down version, backlash is probable.
But backlash could also depend on whether the Democrats find themselves and reorganize after a massive defeat.
“The Democrats have got to figure out where they're going to go. Are they going to continue to be owned by the radical, woke, anti-Semitic left, or are they going to try to pivot back to the middle? If they continue down their path with the radical left, I think you're going to see even more defections, even more and larger America First majorities.
“But if they move down back to the middle, well, then game on. We'll see how it goes,” Lotter said.
