Congressional "generic Republican" candidates who thought they had a winning strategy with tax cuts and against Nancy Pelosi had better think again — it's not enough to win in November, the Washington Examiner reports.
Republicans are worried and scrambling again in the wake of last week's stinging loss in the Pennsylvania's special election where Democrat Conor Lamb overcame the shine of tax cuts and the polarizing House minority leader to win the dead-red district.
"Members must develop their own brand for their district, if they haven't already, and then go out and sell it," Republican Rep. Charlie Dent told the Examiner. "Tax reform might be part of that brand, but boy, you better have a brand this year. If your brand is just generic Republican, that's going to be a problem."
"If we think we can run on that alone, we'll be mistaken," the Examiner quoted Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas.
Republicans were effective in putting Pelosi front-and-center as an issue in the 2016 congressional races and as far back as the 2010 midterms, but Lamb put space between himself and the California Democrat, a strategy that could be adopted by other Democratic challengers.
"It can't be the only strategy," former National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Rep. Greg Walden told the Examiner. "You also have to have something positive to go tell voters you're for and have done and will do going forward."
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