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For the nations conservative movement, these are the days of wine and roses.

Republicans can thank former President Donald Trump for whats been a stunning period of progress. With his 2016 upset victory over Hillary Clinton, Trump appointed three conservative judges to the Supreme Court, which resulted in Junes rulings that removed abortion as a constitutional right, struck down a restrictive gun control law, and made it tougher for the EPA to curb power plant emissions.

Though he served only one term, many conservatives view Trump as the most consequential Republican president since Ronald Reagan.

But many Americans see the controversial Trump as a flawed president who expanded the nations political divide and threatened Americas institutions and its democracy. His bogus assertion that the 2020 election was stolen has gulled a large number of his supporters and led to bizarre debates on what constitutes truth.

The Jan. 6 hearings have made the twice-impeached former president look as bad as ever, especially the thundering testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, who was an aide to Trumps chief of staff, Mark Meadows, about Trumps behavior before and during the Capitol riot.

President Joe Biden beat Trump in 2020 because a majority voters grew tired of Trumps antics, including even some who liked his policies. Still, Republicans got what they wanted out of Trump: a Supreme Court that has ushered in a new era of conservatism.

Now the problem for Republicans is that Trump is still the unquestioned leader of the GOP, and most elected Republicans and party leaders are still reluctant to criticize him. That makes them vulnerable to his actions, particularly if hes ever again on a ballot.

Another Trump candidacy could happen in 2024, when many analysts expect the former president to seek a rematch with Biden.

That means Republicans will be faced with moving past Trump, or potentially letting him destroy the gains theyve made with the Supreme Court and expect to make in this years midterm elections.

Republicans know a reckoning is coming.

But since their voters wont allow them to break with the former president without being ousted from office, GOP elected officials and party leaders are essentially held hostage by Trump and his movement.

Thats why some Republicans are yearning for political life without Trump as a distraction.

Insiders will tell you that they prefer Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the 2024 GOP presidential nominee. They are confident that DeSantis would crush Biden, whose approval rating is at historic lows. If Biden doesnt run, Republicans feel that DeSantis would have an even easier time with Vice President Kamala Harris, and they dont fear anybody on the Democratic Partys presidential candidate bench.

It all looks so good to them, until you get to the Trump factor.

In a straw poll last month at the Texas Republican Party Convention, Trump beat DeSantis in a hypothetical presidential primary contest by a 54% to 30% margin. Sen. Ted Cruz was third with 4%. DeSantis crushed the field in a race without Trump, racking up 71% of the straw poll vote. Cruz was second to DeSantis in that survey with 9%.

It is still Trumps decision and were still in the era of Trump, said Republican political consultant Matthew Langston. Republican Party voters are still aligned with Trump.

For their part, Biden and Democrats would love a rematch against Trump. They know that Americans rejected him in 2020 and dont want that kind of drama returning to the White House.

At this point, Trump is one of the few GOP candidates Biden can beat, no matter the former presidents popularity with the Make America Great Again crowd.

Republican operatives and some political donors are hoping Trump backs away from another presidential run and accepts a role as king or queen maker.

That title may be good for Trump in a midterm year, but when the lights of a presidential election are turned on, hell want the starring role.

The stakes are high. In 2020, with Trump on the ballot, Democrats held the House and won the Senate and the White House. If Trump is disastrous in 2024, it could mean Democrats retake full control of the legislative and executive branches and use that power to write laws that give Americans abortion rights, develop gun control measures, finally approve comprehensive immigration reform and bolster voting rights including the restoration of pre-clearance requirements for certain states that change their election laws.

Whether Democrats would take advantage of newfound clout is the subject for another column, but certainly a Trump defeat in 2024 would be a setback to the conservative cause.

Many Republican strategists cringe at Trump 2024 campaign buttons, but hoping and praying their leader doesnt run is all they can do at this point.

For better or worse, Trump calls the shots in the GOP.

The rest is here:
Donald Trump has given conservatives big wins, but will GOP jump off train? - The Dallas Morning News