THANKS, MAGA!:

Nationally, 32% of voters in 2022 said their vote was "to oppose Joe Biden." But 28% said their vote was "to oppose Donald Trump," even though Trump was out of office. That suggests Trump's continued dominance over the GOP made the 2022 election, in the minds of voters, almost as much about a defeated former president as it was about the current president and party in power.

"It was a Trump problem," a Republican operative involved in the 2022 election told NBC News, speaking candidly about the de facto leader of the GOP on condition of anonymity to avoid retribution. "Independents didn't vote for candidates they viewed as extreme and too closely linked with Donald J. Trump."

Independent voters made up 31% of the electorate and they favored Democrats over Republicans by a margin of 49% to 47%, a stark break from the past four midterms in which they voted by double digits for the party out of power, according to exit polls.

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