As primary elections kicked off a feverishly partisan battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, a slew of incumbent GOP leaders have faced defeat due to criticism of President Donald Trump. Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, who stood as one of the Republican party’s leading supporters in the release of the Epstein Files, lost a highly-publicized contest to Trump-backed candidate Ed Gallerin, and Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy suffered a third-place finish to another Trump ally.

Now, only two Republican Senators who voted for Trump’s 2021 insurrection conviction are expected to remain in office next year. Luis Jimenez, associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said although some lawmakers like South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, are saying this is the result of defying the Trump agenda, he says it’s much more personal than that.

“I think [Trump] has a hold of the party to such an extent that I don’t think you can be in the Republican Party in good standing without being supportive of Trump and not just supportive, but I mean bootlicking, to be honest,” Jimenez said. “This puts Republicans in a vice, especially because Trump is not going to be around forever. But also you can’t distance yourself from Trump; that’s a problem for Republicans. We’ll see how they deal with it. My guess is they’re going to lose a lot before this changes at all.”

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While Democrats hope to take advantage of Republican infighting and term-low polling numbers plaguing the White House, the party has suffered similar internal turbulence due to the release of the Democratic National Committee’s 2024 election “autopsy.” The document, which details the major issues that led to the Harris campaign’s defeat, was long-delayed because DNC chair Ken Martin believed “it wasn’t ready for primetime.”

The autopsy was ultimately published in draft form on Thursday, with unverified claims and a disclaimer stating that the findings did not reflect the committee’s views. Erin O’Brien, professor of political science at UMass Boston, said there were also massive omissions from the report.

“The biggest, most striking [omission] to me is, why was Joe Biden the nominee? Why have we all learned that Democrats who are high up in electoral politics and donors knew that he wasn’t ready for the job, but were on television saying something different?” O’Brien said. “Issues like the party’s stance on Gaza and how it’s out of touch with what many young voters and Democratic voters isn’t in there. It is a 190-page report that is unintentionally a symbol of why the Democratic party has been struggling institutionally: They’re unwilling to say what needs to be said and make those changes.”

In Massachusetts, politicians and residents are reflecting on the legacy of former Congressman Barney Frank, who died on Tuesday at age 86. Frank served in the House from 1981 to 2013, and co-sponsored the sweeping Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which sought to protect consumers in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

He was also a major advocate for gay rights, becoming the first sitting member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay in 1987 and the first Congressperson to marry a person of the same sex while in office in 2012.

Jerold Duquette, professor of political science at Central Connecticut State University, said Frank’s legacy also includes the manner in which he did his work.

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“He was a professional politician, and he practiced politics like a professional politician. So the fact that he is beloved by policy purists and politicos alike is a recipe for how you succeed in politics,” Duquette said. “He succeeded in politics not by always pursuing policy ideals to the nth degree, but he did it by making sure that he was not easy to defeat in elections. He also was in a position where he was virtually invulnerable to challenge in his legislative seat and he used the political capital well. Sometimes we criticize politicians who are easily going to win, but they don’t take chances. Well, Barney Frank knew that he had the ability to do it.”

It’s all on this week’s all-politics hour with the Mass Politics Profs!

Guests

  • Erin O’Brien, professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston
  • Jerold Duquette, professor of political science and director of the Public Policy & Management Concentration at Central Connecticut State University
  • Luis Jimenez, associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston

Stories featured on this week’s episode