On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Representative Ryan Costello (R-PA) stated the GOP is experiencing “shrinkage” among suburban voters and that if the GOP struggles in 2018, more GOP members of Congress will “realize that just standing in line behind Trump — or not speaking out…is not going to be sustainable for our party.”

Costello said he thinks Republicans can hold the House, but if they do so, “it will be because a lot of Republican incumbent members have won by a point or two, rather than winning by eight or ten or 12 points.”

He continued, “We are experiencing — I probably shouldn’t use the word shrinkage, but we are, in terms of suburban voters feeling that the party is not speaking to some of the suburban issues, quality of life issues, and that Trump has very much created a more caustic political environment. Whether it’s solely attributable to him or not doesn’t really matter. Because in the minds of many voters, that’s what they feel.”

Costello further stated, “[A]s a party, we are going to have to be much more forceful in what our policy prerogatives are. Because as the party continues to be more and more defined by Trump, especially when he wades into primaries and the Trump-backed candidate wins. That is not a recipe for long-term success as a political party. It’s just simply not. And in the suburbs, you are seeing the real acceleration of independents move to Democrats, either voting or in party registration. That’s happened in southeastern Pennsylvania. It continues to spread westward. And beyond that, I think that, as a party, if we lose our identity, free market, limited government, that is not a — we’re not going to grow the party.”

He concluded, “I think for a lot of members, after November, if there is — if we are not successful in November, the ways we’ve enjoyed in the past several cycles, if this is anything remotely like 2010, I think you’ll see a lot more members realize that just standing in line behind Trump — or not speaking out is probably the better way to put it, is not going to be sustainable for our party.”

(h/t Grabien)

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett