After the GOP’s underperformance in the midterm elections, the question remains whether Republicans will learn their lesson or be content as year-in, year-out losers.

Former President Donald Trump showed in 2020 and 2018 — and probably also in 2016 — that he is a drag on GOP candidates down the ballot. He oversaw a loss of 40 House seats in the 2018 midterm elections, and he went on to lose to bumbling old “Sleepy Joe” Biden in 2020 even as Republicans outperformed him. In both his 2020 loss and his 2016 win, Trump was a drag on GOP candidates in tight races, who consistently finished with higher vote totals. He probably only won the presidency because Hillary Clinton managed to be more unlikable and incompetent than he was.