Our MAGA Moment
With just days before the 2022 Midterm Elections, the Trump Endorsed, America First candidates running in the House, Senate and Govenor's races are primed to usher in a new era of populist nationalism
The new face of the Republican Party, and the new face of the GOP.
It’s something that we’ve heard all too often during this midterm election cycle. Whether it’s the legacy media outlets spewing their garbage rhetoric comparing the deep and diverse crop of Republican nominees to election denying insurrectionists (or the new far right), or the Republican establishment showing little enthusiasm towards working with our future congressmen and women in January one thing is clear:
This election cycle, combined with the fallout from the 2020 Presidential Election has led to the rebirth of conservative nationalism and is primed to launch a revival moving forward that can potentially reshape the GOP in ways that even as recent as two years ago, we may have thought impossible.
When you take a look at some of the most popular and outside the mold candidates in this election cycle, it’s easy to confirm that the days of past Republican platforms where, lowering your taxes, combating Obamacare and finding a comprehensive solution to the immigration debate have finally been put to bed. After a Presidency of combating the Administrative State followed by two years of Joe Biden’s America Last platform, it seems as if the country is finally ready to embrace a more nationalists outlook and in turn has allowed some of the best incoming freshman Governor’s, Senators and House members to shine throughout this campaign season.
And it’s not only about who the candidates are and what their stances are on the biggest issues, but also the “where they came from” factor, and how they’ve gotten here aspect that will make them the absolute gold standard in the Republican Party for years to come. Let’s take a look at some of America First’s largest rockstars and dive into what has driven their campaign success to this point of the home stretch less than a week away from Election Day.
Kari Lake: R-nominee, Arizona Governor
The former journalist for an Arizona Fox affiliate and walk away Democrat, Kari Lake has undoubtedly become the absolute gold standard of the entire 2022 midterm election cycle. A campaign that was birthed out of strong praise from Donald Trump, Kari Lake has ridden that wave to an insurmountable lead in the Arizona governor’s race. Using a multi-pronged strategy, Lake has been able to amass an enormous ground game component to her campaign strategy; she’s gone to every corner to of the state and met face to face with the constituents and has never missed an opportunity to speak in settings that range from living rooms and corner bars to massive town halls and rally-type settings. Her America First agenda offers sensible and pinpoint solutions to tackle everything from the open U.S. Southern Border, crime and the fentanyl epidemic to combating D.C. driven inflation and the rising costs of energy. Some pundits have eluded to way that Kari Lake has carried herself throughout this process, once being considered the outsider has now shifted to being the only woman right for the job and even has some whispering that Kari has done this in a way that seems almost Presidential. I personally tend to think the same way, however, that debate (literally and figuratively) will be for election cycles in years to come.
Doug Mastriano: R-nominee, Pennsylvania Governor
A State Senator from the Keystone State, Doug Mastriano has redefined what it is to run for the top state office at the grassroots level. Mastriano and his wife Rebbie have taken their bus tour to every major city and small town throughout Pennsylvania and Mastriano’s message which is heavy on public safety, a refocus on the domestic economy and energy independence has more than resonated with the dense blue-collar base there. Catering to massive crowds, Doug has walked with and grown his enormous grassroots apparatus. However, it’s the moderates, independents and walk-away democrats that have energized Mastriano’s poll numbers and have surged the Trump-endorsed candidate within the margin of error versus 5’3” progressive Josh Shapiro on the upcoming November ballot.
Blake Masters - R-nominee, Arizona Senate
If not the most intriguing candidate in this election cycle, he is definitely the embodiment of the changing face of conservative politics. And once you hear Blake Masters speak on his reasons for running against incumbent Democrat rubber stamper, Mark Kelly for the Arizona Senate Seat, you’ve at least got to think about the plausible reasonableness that he bring to the table. Masters was born in Colorado, but raised in Tucson, Arizona which consequently one of the hardest hit potions of our southern border due to the Biden / Mayorkas migrant invasion. In addition to the influx of bodies, drugs have pouring into the community, crime has spiked, test scores for school-aged children have plummeted and the middle class have seen crippling inclination combined with stagnant wages which have the constituents calling for change. Enter Masters, the young tech guru who as an understudy and partner to conservative tech billionaire Peter Thiel has developed into one of the fan-favorites in the 2022 midterm election cycle. After his resounding victory versus an incumbent senator in Mark Kelly last month, Masters is set to take his “it’s not about me, it’s about the people of Arizona” outlook into the Beltway in January.
JD Vance: R-nominee, Ohio Senate
If there’s a common theme to this year’s midterms, it’s how a lot of the candidates came to their positions to ride a Red Wave into D.C. on November 8th. The Ohio Republican Senate nominee, JD Vance is another example of how someone who just a half decade ago disavowed MAGA is now set to defend a Senate seat as the Trump-endorsed, America First candidate. After seeing how Ohio was thriving under Trump-era policies compared to how it’s been destroyed under two years of the Biden Regime, the Marine turned author and Silicon Valley investor returned to the Buckeye State and is now set to defend a senate seat as a political outsider who is focused on Making Ohio Great again.
Joe Kent: R-nominee, WA-3 House Seat
Making the commitment to interject yourself into politics probably isn’t the easiest of decisions. However, if the desire to serve is something that is woven into your DNA, then, it might make the choice a little easier to decide. When I think about service and the commitment that some of the Republican candidates have made prior to their runs for office then, no one running in the 2022 midterms has already given more to this country than the America First, U.S. House nominee in WA-3 Joe Kent has. The father of two, retired Green Beret and CIA analyst, Kent also lost his wife while conducting counter-terrorism operations inside of Syria by a suicide bomber back in 2019. So when you talk about hard work and the ability to overcome sacrifices and loss, you can talk about Joe Kent. His hard work, dedication to the country and resolve at one point, all but ensured him a position in the second four years of the Trump Administration. When the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, Kent returned home to Washington State and launched a campaign that is on course to have him serving in D.C. come January and fighting for America First legislation and oversight regardless of who is currently occupying the Oval Office.
John Gibbs: R-nominee, MI-3 House Seat
As if the aforementioned candidates haven’t shown that broad and diverse base that makes up the Republican slate of nominees in the 2022 midterm elections, you can’t mention such a group without having John Gibbs in the conversation. The Stanford and Harvard educated, Christian missionary who served in the Trump Administration as the Assistant Secretary of HUD alongside Dr. Ben Carson, Gibbs has led a successful campaign that has already seen him defeat the incumbent, never Trumper, Peter Mejier in the primary and now has his sights set on claiming the MI-3 House seat next week in the general election. Gibbs has instituted a comprehensive ground game to compliment his public speaking events and TV spots, and brings his deep understanding of the federal government with a little bit of humor and a soft, spiritual side with him to the table. It’s allowed Gibbs to appeal to a vast voter base, made up of all political affiliations and demographics that’s seeing him approach a major win for America First next week.
The works been put in, and the collaborative effort worked this election cycle is nearly complete. From the contributions podcasts like ours, Steak for Breakfast has had in launching some of the largest campaigns this election cycle, like Kari Lake, Doug Mastriano, Adam Laxalt, Joe Kent and Mike Collins (we were their Day 1 Interviews), to the sheer dominance we’ve seen projected from the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump through physical support and the 35 Save America Rally Circuit events or monetarily via Super PACs like MAGA Inc. (No one has spent more time, money or effort on this election cycle than Trump has), this movement has (for the most part) come together to ensure a referendum at the ballot box occurs on November 8th, 2022 the likes we may never have seen before.
But it’s what we do after November 8th that will determine whether this massive effort was really to Save America or will all be for naught. With such a young, talented and diverse electorate running in these midterms we cannot waste the opportunity to infuse this next generation of first generation MAGA Republicans and in turn literally alter and improve the collective DNA of the Party to ensure that we are working towards a better overall representation of the American People from here on out.
It will take a little time. And the internal battles will be fierce, especially from the Mitch McConnell delegation in the Senate, as they will much like the Democrats next Tuesday, will throw everything at these new standard bearers in a last-ditch attempt to retain power and relevance. However, as long as the new crop of Republican House Members, Senators and Governor’s stick to their promises and fight to pull our nation back from the ledge then this incoming Red Wave will be remembered as the election cycle that kicked off the incoming generation and new era of America First nationalist populism that the first Trump Presidency teased, for a long time to come.