Article snippet: The White House was in damage control mode on Wednesday as it sought to deflect blame for Tuesday's sweeping electoral losses and reassure Republicans who fear President Trump’s unpopularity will cost them at the polls in 2018. Democrats view Tuesday as the start of a nationwide voter uprising against Trump. The party coasted to victory in governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey, while cutting into GOP majorities in statehouses across the country. A person familiar with the president’s political operation dismissed the notion that an anti-Trump wave is building, arguing that Democrats had merely held on in states they were expected to win. New Jersey is a deep-blue state, and Virginia has gone for the Democrat in the last three presidential elections. Aides downplayed the importance of New Jersey and Virginia for the GOP in the 2018 and 2020 elections. “These are blue states that the president didn’t win last year, and candidly the results weren’t even close last year in either of the states.” Team Trump’s reading of the political landscape is unlikely to calm nervous Republicans, who quickly blamed the president and mused about whether their control of Congress would be short-lived.Republican Rep. Scott Taylor (Va.) told The Hill that the GOP’s losses were a “referendum” on the Trump administration. “There has to be some self-reflection at the top and how that’s spilling over in the down ballot,” Taylor said. “I know they would tout the four congressional s... Link to the full article to read more