Last week’s Republican wave fell just 9,000 votes short in a crucial House race in New York’s Nassau County. It didn’t have to happen. The sad story of how it did is a testament to how some Republican leaders place their own power ahead of the party’s health.

Nassau County, east of Queens on Long Island, is home to more registered Republicans than any county in New York, and perhaps in the entire nation. New York’s Fourth District, located entirely within Nassau, was represented by Republicans for 54 years before Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy was elected in 1996. This year, with McCarthy retiring, was the party’s best chance of reclaiming the seat in two decades.