Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, said that President Trump was not to blame for many Republicans losing their seats to Democrats.

He singled out Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., who last month lost the Orange County seat he had held since 1989.

“Trump is not the reason Dana Rohrabacher didn’t do any work,” Grover Norquist told the Washington Examiner editorial board. “Dana hasn’t done any work since before he could spell 'Trump' in that seat.”

Norquist, a veteran conservative activist, linked Rohrabacher, who will cease being the representative for California's 48th Congressional District next month, to other Republicans who concentrated on building a national image rather than focusing on their districts, naming Fox News favorites Allen West and Michelle Bachmann.

“We tolerate Republicans who sit in hammocks that are R-plus-20 districts and then when the tide comes up, they drown and they don’t even bother to get out of the hammock,” Norquist said. “This is not Trump’s fault.”

Rohrabacher, 71, narrowly lost his seat in the 2018 midterm elections to Democrat Harley Rouda, who earned 53 percent of the vote to Rohrabacher's 47 percent. In 2016, Rohrabacher won by a comfortable 16-point margin against his Democratic challenger. A former Ronald Reagan speechwriter, he hadn't faced a serious primary challenge since 1994.

Press Secretary Kenneth Grubbs told the Washington Examiner that Grover "is simply misinformed about all the tireless hours the congressman devoted to his constituents."

"He spent nearly every weekend of his congressional life in his district meeting and hearing from his constituents," Grubbs said.

Norquist said that former Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., did the same thing as Rohrabacher when, instead of focusing on his district, he tried to increase his national profile by appearing on TV and “screaming all day,” which Norquist said led West to lose his seat in 2013. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., currently serves in Florida's 22nd Congressional District, where West formerly served.

“I then drove across Florida to Sarasota and spoke at the Florida party operation. I’m sitting with the head of the party, state party, who tells me, “Allen West, he’s our Alan Grayson [a controversial Democratic congressman in Florida who was a cable television regular and lost his seat].” I said, “Did you guys have a conference call? Why do you say that?” He says, “He’s gonna go on TV and scream on Fox and not care about the district,’” said Norquist.

Norquist also pointed to former Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann as a Republican who made the mistake of creating a more national profile instead of spending time back home, describing her as "the lady from Minnesota who threw away her district by going on Fox and screaming all day instead of turning out the votes there for herself and everybody else."

In 2011, Bachmann tried for the Republican presidential nomination, declaring she'd run for re-election to Congress in 2012 only after bowing out of the presidential race in January.

Bachmann , who had previously won her district by wide margins, narrowly kept her seat in 2012 with just 50.5 percent of the vote , compared to Democrat Jim Graves' 49.3 percent.

She left the House two years later, and was succeeded by Republican Rep. Tom Emmer, who beat Democratic challenger Joe Perske by nearly 18 points.

Norquist said: "Michelle Bachman took an R plus 11 district and won by 1 percent the last time she was running. The guy [Graves] who almost beat her — she beat him by 1 percent — she said, 'I’m not gonna run again.' People said [to Graves], 'So, are you gonna run again?' He said, 'Are you kidding? She’s the only person in the district I can beat. I’m not running again,' which is true."

