I spoke to POLITICO‘s Matt Dixon about the integral role Florida redistricting and over-performance played in the slim GOP House majority.

Groups trying to get the current maps tossed for future election cycles say that the DeSantis-drawn political lines were always designed with a political endgame in mind.

…

But Liam Donovan, a GOP lobbyist, said that if Tallahassee Republicans had their way, Democrats would have the inside track to take the House at this point.

“McCarthy needs to send DeSantis and [Lee] Zeldin fruit baskets,” he said.

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Alex Leary of the Wall Street Journal about the midterm result and what means for former President Donald Trump’s standing within the GOP.

“Republicans are waking up to the fact that he is a net negative for their fortunes,” Republican strategist Liam Donovan said of Mr. Trump. “I don’t think this affects his thinking. He is immovable in that sense. The choice for Republicans is, are we really going to go down this road again?”

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Maggie Haberman of the New York Times about former President Trump’s hand in the GOP’s disappointing midterm result.

“If this proves to be another Senate flop in a year that was otherwise favorable to Republicans — even if not a wave — it will again be a function of the candidates they put up, which was unmistakably shaped and steered by Donald Trump,” said Liam Donovan, a former aide to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Mr. Donovan noted the possibility of a runoff in the Georgia contest, where Mr. Trump could still demonstrate his pull if Mr. Walker defeats Senator Raphael Warnock, the Democratic incumbent.

Read the full piece here.