Trump won a comprehensive victory. Can other Republicans replicate it?
Donald Trump scored a comprehensive victory Tuesday, improving his numbers across several key demographics, possibly sweeping every swing state and clinching the popular vote, which no Republican had done since 2004.
The president-elect, however, says he has run his last race. Term limits will bar him from running again in four years, and Republicans will need to show similar strength in 2026 to maintain their Senate majority and key House seats they were able to secure this year, not to mention the White House again in 2028.
Yet Trump remains a singular figure in Republican politics, and while some lawmakers have been able to find success with their own coalitions, past Trump emulators have failed to capture the same kind of appeal across the political spectrum that he holds -- an appeal that appears to be the dominant force in the modern GOP.
When asked by ABC News whether Trump's coalition can be replicated by others, more than a half-dozen Republican operatives responded with one answer: a resounding maybe.
"Love him or hate him, Trump is a generational candidate," said Tricia McLaughlin, a GOP strategist who worked on Vivek Ramaswamy's presidential campaign. "That is something in the next three years we have to grapple with."
"I think we're yet to see who that might be," she added of who can emulate Trump's 2024 path, "and I think part of the reason we might not be able to see who that is now, and it might take us a while, is because Donald Trump is the name of the game."
The thoroughness of Trump's win left Democrats scratching their heads and gave Republicans a path forward beyond his final term in office, if they're able to capitalize on it.
He appeared on track to take all seven swing states, while staying competitive in deep blue states like New Mexico and New Jersey. He was able to clinch 46% of the Latino vote, won Hispanic men outright and kept his loss to single digits among female voters even amid furor over abortion access, according to exit poll data. And while he expanded the Republican coalition to include more voters of color, he maintained his dominance with white voters.
Now, it's contingent on Republicans, likely with Trump's support, to continue those successes as they work to defend their new Senate majority in 2026, remain competitive for the House and elect another president in four years.
One way, strategists said, is to try to be as legislatively productive as possible while Trump is in the White House. He was elected to change things, they argued, and making those changes will help reinforce the perception of the Republican Party that handed the GOP victories up and down the ballot, benefiting others hitting the campaign trail in their own races.
"This is not a squeaker of a win, it's a landslide, he has a mandate on the policies he's running on. So, it would be wise for our party to achieve all of that sooner than later, in the first 100 days for Congress to get that together," said GOP strategist Kristin Davison. "To keep the coalition, the first step is to deliver."
"And then, moving forward, we have four years here, and elections during that time and following, to take that message that meets voters where they are," Davison added. "I think where we might make a mistake is where candidates copy and paste. Nobody will be able to be Trump...But to take that message and apply it to their specific state and district and community will be the best way to continue and grow that."
To do so, Republican candidates might have to break from traditional GOP orthodoxy in the same way that Trump did. Out are support for free trade and big business benefits, in are "fair trade" and policies beneficial to workers.
"I think it's important to remember that this coalition is built on policy over anything else. Yes, personality helps him build it. But the policy is what builds this coalition," said Nick Trainer, a former Trump administration official. "You have to find your way in, whether that's increased child tax credits or pro-labor stances or whatever it may be, you have to find your way into it. But it's not something where you can be a PowerPoint Republican of yesteryear."
It won't be easy.
Past emulators have failed. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential bid flamed out as Trump remained the party leader, and Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake is trailing in a state that favored Trump.
Trump has undoubtedly brought more voters into the fold, including some who are thought to not be motivated to vote for anyone besides him. And if there is any hope of Trump's coalition living on in other races, his involvement could be key.
"There's this fascinating voter out there that is uniquely keyed for Donald Trump, and we may never see them again. They may never vote again in their lives, because I'm convinced that a lot of them never voted before Donald Trump," said one GOP strategist who worked on several down-ballot races this year.
"How do we keep them engaged? How do we keep them motivated to keep coming around?" the person added. "I don't know, but that would be one way to replicate it, is if he took an active role in kind of playing kingmaker from this point forward."
To be certain, there are other coalitions to be had.
GOP governors like Mike DeWine in Ohio and Brian Kemp in Georgia have won as more traditional Republican lawmakers, at times with margins even more expansive than those Trump won in their states.
But Trump and his coalition are clearly the 800-pound gorilla in Republican politics, and while replicating the president-elect's appeal will be key to Republican success, doing so won't come as naturally to others.
"It will be extremely difficult," the Republican strategist said. "Doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Doesn't mean that there won't be efforts to do it. But I do think there will be a limit to how successful you're going to be without your name being Donald Trump."
