- Rep.-elect Michael Lawler pushed for the Republican Party to move beyond Trump.
- "I would like to see the party move forward," Lawler told CNN.
- Lawler pulled off a major midterm upset by ousting a top House Democrat in New York.
Republican Rep.elect-Michael Lawler said on Thursday that it is time for the GOP to move on from Donald Trump, the latest message in a growing series of recriminations for the former president.
"I would like to see the party move forward," Lawler told CNN. "I think any time you are focused on the future, you can't so much go to the past."
For now, Lawler remains a bright spot on a night where House Republicans failed to see their hopes of a wave election materialize. He is projected to have knocked off Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the head of House Democrats' campaign arm, a major upset of a sitting Democratic Party leader.
Lawler added that ultimately Trump himself and Republican voters will decide the former president's fate, but "moving in a different direction as we move forward is a good thing and not a bad thing."
"I think more focus needs to be on those issues and the substance of those issues than the personalities," Lawler said.
Just before the midterms, Trump teased a major announcement next week. It was all but presumed that he would be announcing a third presidential campaign. But Tuesday night bruised Trump's political brand as some of his most important endorsees fell flat, especially Dr. Mehmet Oz, who lost a GOP-held Senate seat in Pennsylvania.
As CNN's Kaitlan Collins pointed out to Lawler, some GOP figures are beginning to try to move the GOP away from Trump. Collins quoted Rep. Peter King, a long-time Republican congressman who retired before the 2020 elections. King, who has known Trump for years, told The New York Times that the party needs a new leader.
"I strongly believe he should no longer be the face of the Republican Party," King said.
As of Thursday morning, the House majority remains too close to call. Decision Desk HQ and Insider do project that Republicans are more likely to flip the lower chamber than not. Maloney has conceded to Lawler but the race won't be officially over until results are canvassed and certified.