By Mica Soellner

House Republicans admit that Democrats’ meddling in GOP primaries helped Nancy Pelosi’s party hang on to a swath of vulnerable seats, but Republicans were split on whether to use the same disingenuous tactic in future elections.

GOP lawmakers called the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s donations to far-right primary candidates unethical but effective and acknowledged the tactic likely contributed to Republican losses in flippable districts in the general election.

“It may have worked this time around, but it just doesn’t feel right,” said Rep. Paul Gosar, Arizona Republican. “America is based on …  trying to be the best and competition to drive that excellence. That’s quite the opposite. It’s not driving excellence. It’s trying to drive a negative or what you perceive as a negative.”

Rep. Austin Scott, Georgia Republican, said while he thinks both parties should follow an honor code to not meddle in each other’s primary processes, the GOP should have the same standard as Democrats if they play dirty.

“If they’re going to engage in ours, we will be forced to engage in theirs. They won every seat that they did that in and, so now you’re talking about the difference in a 10-seat majority vs. a three-seat majority,” Mr. Scott said. “We can’t allow them to do what they did in our primaries and not combat that.”

Democrats have touted their stronger-than-expected performance in the midterms, blaming GOP extremism on their losses in the general election, which tends to bring out more moderate voters than primaries.

While Republicans are still expected to flip the House, the highly anticipated “red wave” fell short, giving the GOP a much narrower majority than expected.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat who chairs the caucus, said the midterm results were a rejection by voters of the “extreme” positions taken by numerous losing House GOP candidates.

“The other side of the aisle is extreme. They’re out of control. They’re off the hook. They don’t believe in democracy. That was rejected. They don’t believe in reproductive freedom all across the country. That was rejected. They want to detonate Social Security in five years. That was rejected. And so battles were won that are extraordinary,” Mr. Jeffries told reporters this week.

Democrats ran on painting Republicans as being radical on abortion, warning of an immediate push for a national ban if they take power.

They also tied the GOP to the 2021 Capitol riot and to outspoken Republicans who continue to question the results of the 2020 election. They also emphasized a proposal by Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican, that would sunset all major spending, including on Medicare and Social Security, requiring Congress to reauthorize the programs.

Democrats said Republicans would slash funding for the popular programs.

The DCCC spent tens of millions to uplift far-right Republican candidates in primaries across the country in hopes that voters would elect Democrats in opposition to them.

The strategy, which was put forth under the leadership of New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, was highly criticized at the time by Democrats who said the plan could backfire.

Some still oppose the idea.

“We helped anti-democratic candidates into positions of great influence and power, and now know the names and brands of pretty terrible election deniers and those who dabble in conspiracies,” a senior Democratic aide said. “It makes me rethink if I ever will donate to the Democratic Party again.”

Rep. Ami Bera, California Democrat who is running to be the next campaign chief for his party, said he would not take the same approach if he is to secure the slot.

Mr. Bera is running against Rep. Tony Cardenas of California for the position.

“That’s probably not the best thing to do, and we should focus on protecting our incumbents and making sure they have the resources, though obviously, it worked in some places,” Mr. Bera said.

Rep. Richard Hudson, North Carolina Republican who will lead his party’s campaign arm next cycle, said he also is opposed to meddling in Democrats’ primaries.

“No. I don’t think it’s a good use of campaign money,” Mr. Hudson said of the idea. “We’re still kind of doing our assessment district by district on what happened, but I don’t think it’s a smart strategy.”