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Competitiveness is a cornerstone of American politics, a lot in order that it’s been known as a blood sport at occasions. And, as in any competitors, winners and losers all the time emerge.
Fox Information Digital takes a take a look at a number of the greatest political losers of 2023.
Lori Lightfoot
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s re-election marketing campaign, which culminated in her loss to present Mayor Brandon Johnson, was marked by a number of self-inflicted wounds.
The previous Democratic mayor took the brunt of criticism directed at metropolis officers over the town’s rising charge of violent crime. Lightfoot additionally confronted bipartisan blowback for her dealing with of the COVID-19 pandemic, together with clashes with progressives and the lecturers union.
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Ex-Rep. George Santos, Rep. Rashida Tlaib and ex-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (Related Press)
Glenn Youngkin
Youngkin’s upset victory in 2021 over former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe set him on a path to political stardom. The parental rights-focused Republican governor was nearly instantly touted as a future presidential candidate, even probably as early as 2024.
However he staked his nationwide repute on Republicans successful the complete Virginia legislature in November, even suggesting a 15-week abortion restrict could be on the desk if the commonwealth went purple.
Democrats, nevertheless, ended up flipping the Virginia Home of Delegates whereas retaining management of the state Senate.
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Susanna Gibson
One Virginia Democrat who didn’t fare properly within the newest election cycle, nevertheless, is Gibson, the nurse practitioner whose promising marketing campaign for a swing seat within the Home of Delegates was derailed by revelations laid naked simply weeks earlier than Election Day.
The Washington Submit first reported that Gibson and her husband broadcast intercourse acts on social media, accepting suggestions in change for lewd requests.
She wound up dropping the Richmond-area seat by lower than 1,000 votes.
Virginia legislative candidate Susanna Gibson addresses the Girls’s Summit in Virginia Seashore, Va., in September 2022. (Neil Smith by way of AP)
Rashida Tlaib
Rep. Tlaib, D-Mich., the one Palestinian-American in Congress, has lengthy been a vital voice towards the Israeli authorities, a part of a small however rising faction of progressives bucking Democrats’ conventional pro-Israel stance.
Nonetheless, she’s remoted herself this yr after Hamas’ Oct. 7 shock assault on Israel and Israel’s subsequent navy response, going additional than most together with her response to the conflict in Gaza.
Her response to the disaster resulted in a proper Home censure alongside bipartisan traces in November.
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George Santos
Embattled former Home Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., dominated headlines with an array of colourful scandals, from federal fees that included wire fraud to allegations he was chargeable for the most cancers dying of a navy veteran’s canine.
Santos’ backstory rapidly unraveled when he received to Congress, and it was discovered he lied about his faculty diploma, work and ancestry.
However felony fees associated to misuse of marketing campaign funds have been the ultimate nail within the coffin for Santos’ Home profession, and he was expelled by a two-thirds majority vote Dec. 1.
President Biden speaks throughout an occasion on the Nationwide Institutes of Well being Dec. 14, 2023. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs)
Joe Biden
This yr has seen the nation’s octogenarian commander in chief coping with an impeachment inquiry as he continues to wrestle with low ballot numbers.
Regardless of touring the nation touting key victories, primarily his bipartisan infrastructure invoice, Biden continues to be working to persuade voters he’s match for an additional 4 years within the White Home.
Along with questions on his age and whether or not he profited from his function as vice chairman, Biden can be coping with progressive outrage over his help for Israel in its conflict on Hamas.
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It’s culminated in early voter polls that present gloomy forecasts for his re-election prospects during the last a number of weeks.
Kevin McCarthy
McCarthy started his 2023 with a marathon 15 rounds of voting throughout three days, the world watching him wrangle a divided Home GOP Convention to ultimately win the speaker’s gavel.
Speaker of the Home Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., conducts a information convention within the U.S. Capitol July 25, 2023 (Getty Photographs )
On Dec. 14, McCarthy was giving his ultimate speech to a Home flooring full of lower than a dozen lawmakers, largely his allies.
He informed reporters later that day it was a “bittersweet” ending to his profession in Congress, which noticed him make historical past in October as the primary ousted speaker of the Home. He introduced in December he would depart Congress altogether.
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McCarthy chalked it as much as private vendettas throughout a ultimate exit interview with reporters later that day, however he remained optimistic.
“I liked each minute, good or dangerous,” he stated.
However whereas he made Fox Information Digital’s listing of 2023’s political losers, McCarthy may ascend once more.
He intends to stay a major determine within the GOP fundraising sphere and is sort of sure to be a sizzling commodity in Washington, D.C., for a while. He didn’t rule out a return to authorities both.
Elizabeth Elkind is a reporter for Fox Information Digital centered on Congress in addition to the intersection of Synthetic Intelligence and politics. Earlier digital bylines seen at Every day Mail and CBS Information.
Observe on Twitter at @liz_elkind and ship tricks to [email protected]
