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John Fredricks interviews Jim Pfaff: “The consulting class blows elections”

Published: March 31, 2025
Network: John
Analysis: Conservative Caucus President Jim Pfaff

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The Pennsylvania special election delivered a devastating blow to Republicans when they lost a Trump+15 state senate seat by 500 votes—a stunning 20-point swing that exposed catastrophic failures in GOP grassroots operations. Conservative Caucus Chairman Jim Pfaff joined John Fredericks to dissect what he called “absolute incompetence” by party leadership, revealing how Republicans’ refusal to execute basic voter turnout operations cost them a seat that should have been an easy victory just four months after President Trump carried the district by double digits.

Topics Covered

• The Signal Controversy: Much Ado About Nothing
• Pennsylvania Special Election: A Catastrophic Loss
• The GOP’s Grassroots Organizing Problem
• Why Elected Officials Shouldn’t Run State Parties
• The Winning Attitude Republicans Must Adopt

The Signal Controversy: Much Ado About Nothing

Before addressing the Pennsylvania special election debacle, Pfaff and Fredericks dismissed the ongoing media obsession with the Signal messaging app controversy. While the mainstream press continues to pepper White House briefings with questions about alleged security breaches, Pfaff put the issue in perspective compared to genuine national security disasters from the previous administration.

“Listen, even more importantly, what I really care about is the deaths of servicemen in Afghanistan and that botched withdrawal, the fact that Iran is on target right now more than ever…to have a nuclear weapon and then we have terrorists and criminals coming across our borders during the Biden administration.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

The controversy stemmed from National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s staff member incorrectly loading contact names into the Signal app, which was actually an approved government communication tool—not a rogue system like Hillary Clinton’s private server. Pfaff characterized it as “dumb, sloppy work” that warranted accountability for the staff member but hardly rose to the level of scandal Democrats hoped to manufacture.

Fredericks noted that after three days of coverage, the facts revealed the mistake was simply poor staff work that should result in termination for incompetence, not a constitutional crisis. Both agreed the media’s continued focus represented desperate “grasping at straws” by Democrats looking for any angle to attack the Trump administration.

Pennsylvania Special Election: A Catastrophic Loss

The conversation’s main focus turned to what Pfaff called an “outrage” and “true outrage”—the Pennsylvania special election loss that flipped a safe Republican state senate seat to Democrats. The district had supported President Trump by 15 points just four months earlier in November 2024, making the 500-vote defeat particularly inexcusable.

The seat became vacant when the incumbent Republican state senator was recruited by Senator Dave McCormick to run statewide operations. Republicans nominated what they considered a solid candidate for what should have been a routine hold, but the campaign collapsed due to fundamental organizational failures.

Fredericks expressed shock that the race wasn’t even on his radar screen despite his dominant media presence throughout Pennsylvania. “Nobody called me up. They didn’t have any idea what the candidate was. Nothing. There was zero on it,” he said, contrasting it with Wisconsin races where multiple congressmen proactively reached out for candidate interviews.

The GOP’s Grassroots Organizing Problem

Pfaff identified the core problem plaguing Republican campaigns: an institutional aversion to grassroots voter contact and turnout operations. While Democrats excel at the “dirty” work of door-knocking, voter registration, and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts, Republicans prefer television advertising and high-level strategy sessions.

“There is one thing that the Republican party is crappy at. Some campaigns are good at it, but the party in general is crappy at, and that is campaigning at the grassroots level. The turnout machine and the voter registration machine.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

The Pennsylvania special election exemplified this dysfunction. In low-turnout special elections, every voter contact matters exponentially more than in general elections. Republicans needed to execute intensive mail ballot operations, door-to-door canvassing, and voter reminder systems—exactly the type of work party operatives find unglamorous and avoid.

Fredericks shared a telling anecdote from a Virginia special election years earlier where 20 Republican state senators gathered at Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel for a cocktail party to watch results, rather than spending the day on the Eastern Shore knocking doors in the district. The Republican candidate lost by exactly 20 votes—one per senator who chose drinks over doors.

The lesson was clear but unlearned: “If each of those guys had just gotten three votes, they wouldn’t have even had to spend a lot of time,” Pfaff noted. “One vote each, they win.”

Why Elected Officials Shouldn’t Run State Parties

Both Pfaff and Fredericks criticized the trend of elected officials chairing state Republican parties, pointing to Pennsylvania’s new chairman, State Senator Greg Rothman, as a case study in the problems this creates. Rothman was handpicked by Senator Dave McCormick, creating a political hierarchy that prioritized relationships over electoral competence.

Fredericks articulated several problems with elected officials running parties:

• Conflict of Interest: A state senator presiding over a state senate race creates obvious conflicts and lack of objectivity
• Competing Priorities: Legislative duties and donor obligations divide attention from party-building
• Too Close to the Action: Inability to maintain strategic distance and make tough decisions
• Donor Pressure: Vulnerability to lobbyists and special interests who have legislative business

Pfaff agreed, citing advice from the late Congressman Mark Solder: “A lawyer’s a fool that has himself for a client.” The same principle applies to elected officials running their own party apparatus. What’s needed instead are businesspeople or professional activists who can bring objective viewpoint, energy, and creativity without conflicting obligations.

“You need objective viewpoint as well. And so having someone come in who’s a businessman maybe or who is an activist who has the capability of doing this that you can pay. That’s what you need.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

Fredericks noted that Ted Christian, whom he supported for Pennsylvania GOP chairman, was muscled out in favor of Rothman—a political decision that now looks disastrous in hindsight given the Pennsylvania special election results.

The Winning Attitude Republicans Must Adopt

The conversation turned philosophical as Pfaff invoked legendary coach Vince Lombardi’s approach: the job is to win, not merely to participate. He contrasted this mentality with the excuse-making culture that has infected Republican campaign operations.

When party officials blamed the Pennsylvania loss on “low turnout,” both men reacted with contempt. “What do you mean it’s low? A special election is low. I even know what that means,” Pfaff said mockingly. “Well, then turn your people out then. Low turnout. Your job is to win elections. Turn your people out.”

Pfaff drew a direct line to President Trump’s success: “Donald Trump has it. That’s why he’s right now president again. If he didn’t have that, we’d be in a real mess right now. He saved the country in my opinion at least temporarily if not permanently because he was willing to go out and win because he is a winner.”

The Conservative Caucus chairman was particularly scathing about the consulting class that dominates Republican campaigns. These operatives prioritize television ad buys that generate commissions over grassroots organizing that wins close elections. “You get these people who want to make sure that you get the television vendor in to sell the ads, but they forget the main thing, which is winning on the ground,” Pfaff explained.

He shared his own management philosophy from running campaigns: “There are going to be at least two or three times that you’re going to want to just walk off on this because I’m just going to tell you to shut your damn mouth and do what I said.” The reasoning? “I got nine months…this isn’t a business. You know, in a business you can make a little mistake here, then you learn something and you adjust for it. I don’t have time for that.”

Where Was the National Party?

Fredericks announced he would press RNC Chairman Michael Whatley about the Pennsylvania failure in an upcoming interview. Key questions included:

• Where was the Republican National Committee’s involvement and resources?
• Why didn’t the National Republican State Legislative Committee (NRSLC) deploy assistance?
• How did party leadership allow a Trump+15 district to flip without intervention?
• What accountability measures will be implemented to prevent future disasters?

The lack of national attention to the race particularly galled both men. In an era of nationalized politics where every seat matters for legislative control, allowing a safe Republican seat to flip through neglect represents organizational malpractice at the highest levels.

Pfaff emphasized that the 2024 presidential election taught clear lessons about mail balloting, early voting, and turnout operations—lessons that were apparently ignored just months later. Groups like those run by Cliff Maloney in Pennsylvania had demonstrated successful grassroots models, yet the party establishment failed to replicate or support these efforts in the special election.

Key Takeaways

1. Pennsylvania Special Election Disaster – Republicans lost a Trump+15 state senate seat by 500 votes due to complete failure of grassroots turnout operations, representing a catastrophic 20-point swing.
2. Grassroots Organizing Crisis – The Republican Party remains institutionally incompetent at voter contact, door-knocking, and GOTV operations that determine low-turnout elections, preferring television ads and consultant-driven strategies.
3. Elected Officials as Party Chairs – Having state legislators run party organizations creates conflicts of interest, divided attention, and lack of objectivity needed for effective campaign management.
4. No Excuses Culture Needed – “Low turnout” is not an excuse but rather defines the challenge; successful campaigns set dynamics rather than react to them, with accountability for failures.
5. National Party Failure – The RNC and NRSLC failed to recognize or respond to a critical race, allowing preventable defeat through neglect and lack of coordination.
6. Winning Mentality Required – Republicans must adopt President Trump’s winning attitude and reject the cocktail party culture that prioritizes consultant fees over ground-game victories.
7. Mail Ballot Reversal – Democrats dominated mail balloting in the special election, reversing Republican gains from 2024 that helped Trump win Pennsylvania, showing the party failed to maintain successful tactics.
8. Accountability Coming – Conservative leaders are demanding answers from national party leadership about how such an obvious failure occurred and what systemic changes will prevent recurrence.

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About The Conservative Caucus:
The Conservative Caucus is a grassroots public policy action organization, formed in 1974. Headed by President Jim Pfaff, the Caucus is committed to advancing free enterprise, limited government, and traditional values.

Originally broadcast March 31, 2025 on John.