Priebus: Impeachment talk doesn’t help Dems in moderate districts

Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus is warning Democrats against talk of impeaching President Trump, saying such ideas don’t help Democrats connect with voters in moderate districts.

In an interview airing Sunday on AM 970’s “The Answer,” the former Republican National Committee chairman told host John Catsimatidis that such talk among Democrats was a boon for Republicans, who face a challenging midterm season.

“Out of 435 congressional districts, you’ve got maybe 25 in play. And those 25 are very moderate districts. The Democrats talk about impeaching, and using words like that, that doesn’t help them in moderate districts,” Priebus said. “It should be an incredible year.”

But the former top Trump aide cautioned that Republicans still face a historically challenging scenario: Holding on to majorities in both houses of Congress while their party also controls the White House.

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“The party in power historically always has a very difficult time, John. I do think it’s going to be a challenge,” Priebus acknowledged.

Trump and his former aide met in late December over lunch to discuss the 2018 midterms, with Priebus reportedly at the time expressing concern about the GOP’s standing going into November.

The meeting came just days after Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) defeated controversial GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore in a special election to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s former seat.

During his interview broadcast Sunday, Priebus also complimented the president’s selection of Brad Parscale, his former 2016 data manager, to run his 2020 reelection campaign. Trump made the announcement of Parscale’s new role earlier this week.

“I think it’s a great pick. The reason I like it is it’s kind of a no-nonsense, in-the-weeds pick,” the former chief of staff said. 

“I like the ground game, the infrastructure, the data,” he added. “That’s what Brad Parscale does. He’s a data guy.”

Democrats need to win a net 24 seats to win control of the House. A Suffolk University/USA Today poll released earlier this week estimates Democrats have a 15-point advantage on a generic House ballot heading into November.