UVA Miller Center hosts discussion on future of GOP

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The University of Virginia Miller Center is taking a close look at the Republican Party: What’s happened recently, what’s happening now, and what will happen to the GOP next.

“I think you have to campaign for the vote,” Mary Kate Cary said Thursday, September 7.”I think there is a battle for every vote, and we would be smart to try and win that battle for every voter.”

Cary, a former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush, was part of Thursday’s panel discussion at UVA. She says former-Governor Nikki Haley presents a real threat to former-President Donald Trump’s current campaign.

“If anybody could win the primaries, it’s her. It’s just a fact of if we have Trump as our nominee, we will not win the [general election],” Cary said.

Fromer-10th District Representative Barbara Comstock (R) says Trump can be beaten, but only if strong candidates are willing to put themselves out there.

“They aren’t taking him on, that’s the problem. No one is really taking him on,” Comstock said.

The panel was asked about the long-term future of the Republican Party. Comstock believes their party needs to pay close attention to governors.

“That’s where the successful Republican presidents will come in the future,” she said.

Cary says the party needs to get some of the older elected officials out, and turn to the next generation.

“Politics was not always the way it is right now, and it doesn’t have to stay this way. It takes young people who are dedicated to the future of the country to step forward,” Cary said.

Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.