NeverTrump GOP Saboteurs Go Down in Defeat Even as Trump Smashes Blue Wall

While Donald Trump was smashing the Blue Wall, his vocal critics Kelly Ayotte, N.H., Mark Kirk, Ill., Joe Heck, Nev. and David Jolly in Fla., were defeated. It was a startling development in a stunning election. The conventional political wisdom didn’t even consider Trump might actually help embattled down-ballot candidates, but it was wrong.

“Donald Trump heard a voice in this country no one else did,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters on Wednesday. “Now he will lead a unified Republican government.”

Contrary to most other media polls, PPD Polling consistently revealed that down-ballot candidates were receiving more support from Trump than visa versa. Republicans on the ticket needed the Trump voter to get them across the finish line. That’s the exact opposite of what the media narrative claimed the entire election season.

“There are many examples this cycle of how the pundits and pollsters blew it,” said PPD’s senior analyst and polling head Rich Baris. “But this was no doubt one of the biggest. Trump was also the movement candidate with the strongest base of support. It was foolish not to stick by him. Now those who didn’t can take their principled balls and go home.”

Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire defeated first-term Republican Kelly Ayotte, while long-shot Mark Kirk went down to Rep. Tammy Duckworth. Joe Heck, who led in most of the polls until he turned on Trump, went down on Election Day easily and, Rep. Jolly, was defeated by Charlie Crist for his newly drawn seat in Florida.

People’s Pundit Daily, which was followed by the Associated Press, called the race for Hassan on Wednesday, but the remaining NeverTrump lawmakers were easily defeated on election night.

Ayotte says in a statement that she has contacted Hassan to concede the close race and offer her congratulations. She is thanking the people of New Hampshire for their support.

Meanwhile, several Republicans who stood by Trump in tight races were victorious, including Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who was widely thought to be most vulnerable. In Wisconsin, the scene of a heated senate race rematch from 2010 with former senator Russ Feingold, party unity was pivotal in determining control of the Upper Chamber.

“You saw the Marquette Poll,” Speaker Ryan said. “We didn’t think we could do it. Donald Trump provided the coattail we needed to hold on to strong majorities. Donald Trump got us over, delivered Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes. What Donald Trump just pulled off was an enormous political feat. He just earned a mandate.”

Until it went for Trump in 2016, the Badger State had not voted for a Republican candidate for president since Ronald Reagan in was reelected in 1984.

In Pennsylvania, which hadn’t gone for a Republican since George H.W. Bush road Reagan’s successor coattails in 1988, incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey survived a strong challenge from Democrat Katherine McGinty. With overwhelming support from working class voters, Trump carried the state by a 1-point margin, nearly indentical to the final percentage point in the PPD Keystone State Battleground Poll.

Pennsylvania put him over the top in the Electoral College, but it and the Badger State will likely not be the only ones in the so-called Blue Wall to fall when the votes are finalized. With 100% reporting (4,830 of 4,830 precincts), Trump leads Clinton in Michigan 47.6% to 47.3%, or 2,279,210 to 2,267,373.