Gingrich projects 2022 midterms, 2024 presidential elections

By |  July 5, 2022
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich says he does not expect President Biden to run for re-election come 2024. Photo: adamkaz/E+/Getty Images

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich says he does not expect President Biden to run again come 2024. Photo: adamkaz/E+/Getty Images

The 2022 primary and midterm elections were prominent talking points at this year’s Pit & Quarry Roundtable & Conference, which the magazine hosted at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Georgia.

Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, joined the Roundtable for a virtual Q&A that touched on business issues relating to the aggregate industry. Gingrich also shared his expectations for the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election.

The 2022 midterms

Reflecting on Georgia’s May 24 primary election, Gingrich credited Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Georgia) for running a successful campaign in his victory over Donald Trump-backed David Perdue. Kemp’s victory bucked the trend of Trump-endorsed candidates winning at a 95 to 96 percent clip, according to Gingrich.

“I will give credit to Gov. Brian Kemp, who I thought was weak,” he says. “[He] rose to the occasion, ran a great campaign, won a decisive victory and, I think, will beat Stacey Abrams by a big margin. Kemp deserves credit.”

Still, at the Roundtable, Gingrich highlighted a number of Trump-backed candidates who will contend once again come November. Gingrich pointed to primary victories for Republican Senate candidates J.D. Vance and Dr. Mehmet Oz in Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively. Gingrich also mentioned Ken Paxton’s win over George P. Bush in Texas’s Republican primary election for Paxton’s state attorney general spot.

As for Democrats, Gingrich says the party is moving further to the left – and to its own detriment. He says there are few, if any, moderates left in the House.

“There are liberals as opposed to the left wing,” Gingrich says. “When [President] Biden endorsed a liberal Democrat in Oregon, and he then lost to an AOC (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York))-backed left-wing Democrat, it sort of told you the direction the Democrats are moving in.”

Even if inflation slows slightly, Gingrich does not anticipate it to feel any better by Election Day. High prices for food and gas should continue, he says.

According to Gingrich, inflation is one of several issues Republicans have the advantage in. November’s outcomes will come down to what Gingrich calls “the politics of life” and “the politics of politics.”

“The Jan. 6 committee is basically about ‘the politics of politics,’” he says. “The average American doesn’t pay attention to it, it’s not in their life [and] it doesn’t affect them. The price of gasoline is ‘the politics of life.’ It’s right in the middle of [everyone’s] life.

“All [Republicans] have to do this fall is campaign in front of grocery stores and gas stations,” Gingrich adds. “I think they will have a huge advantage. My personal guess is the House will be between plus-25 and plus-70 [Republicans]. It could be the largest Republican victory since 1920. The Senate, I think, will probably be plus-three or plus-four [for Republicans].”

Gingrich

Gingrich

The 2024 presidential election

Looking ahead to the next presidential election, Gingrich does not expect Biden to run . He says there is a chance Trump runs again, but it’s too early to speculate.

“My guess is that [Biden] either won’t run or he’ll have a real primary fight,” he says. “On the Republican side, if Trump is healthy, he will probably run. He is the most likely nominee, but he’s not certain. [Gov. Ron] DeSantis (R-Florida) could give him a huge run.

“Remember, we were having this discussion in the spring of 2014,” Gingrich adds. “Not a single person – not me, not anybody – would have said: ‘Donald Trump is going to beat 16 Republicans and then beat Hillary [Clinton].’ So to sit here now and say what is going to happen in 2024 understates the volatility of where America is.”

One possible option for Democrats in 2024 is current Vice President Kamala Harris. Gingrich questions her chances of winning the presidency, though.

“In 2024, the most likely future is Trump against a Democratic governor,” he says. “Kamala Harris right now polls reasonably well among Democrats. I think she’s very implausible as the Democratic presidential nominee.”

No matter who is running on either ticket, Gingrich anticipates a Republican victory in 2024.

“The Democrats can’t change,” he says. “I think they’re trapped. Let me say as a citizen, I think we are in trouble as a country. I think we need very deep reforms.”

Jack Kopanski

About the Author:

Jack Kopanski is the Managing Editor of Pit & Quarry and Editor-in-Chief of Portable Plants. Kopanski can be reached at 216-706-3756 or jkopanski@northcoastmedia.net.

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