If Republicans do not use the present MESS in Venezuela in coast-to-coast ads showing the TRUE result of Socialism/Communism (i.e. bankruptcy, lawlessness, and starvation) and use that to anoint Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, Harris, and all the other morons pushing for Socialism in America, then they are beyond hopeless.
The media of course will ignore Venezuela as much as possible, or spin it as Socialism incorrectly implemented (as our president has pointed out, Venezuela did indeed have Socialism correctly implemented, which is why it is a basket case now).
A tangential point:
Keep in mind that Thursday will be the 51st anniversary of the Communist "Tet Offensive" in Vietnam, a battle which in fact was a huge defeat for them, after the initial surprise attacks. Walter Cronkite of CBS and other Leftist reporters on all three networks were able to sell the American people on the BIG LIE that it was a huge defeat for the United States.
The United States Marines and the other armed services were shocked by the news that they had lost that battle, for it sure seemed that they had won! Victor Davis Hanson has written much about the Tet Offensive, and has this to say:
(The North) Vietnamese often turned to American academics, religious figures, and intellectuals in attempts to nullify the American power which their own army could not. “60 Minutes” and The New York Times could do what Pravda and the Daily World could not: convince the American people that the war was unwinnable and unjust. To the North Vietnamese, the loud-speaking, confusing, and fractious Americans–William F. Buckleys and Jane Fondas alike–were not so much evil or good as insidious.
While the media's influence did not steal victory by itself, it certainly was a factor in America's - Nixon's - desire to leave without a clear victory.
See:
http://victorhanson.com/wordpress/the-meaning-of-tet/