Republican hopes of a smashing victory in the midterm elections have fallen in ruins. This was no repudiation of the governing Democrats or its leader, even if, as seems likely, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) grip will be pried off the House of Representatives.
The precise makeup of the House remains unsettled at the time of writing, but if Republicans win, it will be by the slimmest of margins. If results hold for Republicans in Nevada and for Democrats in Arizona, the Senate will not be decided until next month, when Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Republican Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker will face a runoff in Georgia.
But look a little just a little closer, especially at races for governor, and a pattern emerges. “Florida was a refuge of sanity when the world went mad,” Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said in his victory speech on election night. “We have embraced freedom. We have maintained law and order. We have protected the rights of parents. We have respected our taxpayers. And we reject woke ideology.”
Florida voters loved this message, and whereas then-President Donald Trump barely beat Joe Biden by 3 points in the state only two years ago, DeSantis crushed his opponent by 20 points on Election Day. Other Republican governors who brought order instead of chaos also won. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine ran away with a 25-point victory. Gov. Chris Sununu took New Hampshire by 15 points. And in Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds won by 20 points.
Trump’s hand-picked candidates flopped. While Sununu was breezing to victory, Trump’s favorite in the same state, Don Bolduc, lost to Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) by 11 points. Democrat Josh Shapiro crushed Trump favorite Doug Mastriano by 13 points in Pennsylvania and helped John Fetterman squeak out a 3-point victory over Dr. Mehmet Oz, another weak Trump pick. And in Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp trounced Stacey Abrams by 8 points, Trump’s pick, Walker, is trailing and heading into a December runoff.
Results are not in from Arizona, but in all the other high-profile races across the country, Trump’s candidates significantly underperformed other Republicans. As terrible results rolled in overnight, Trump reportedly resorted to screaming about bad GOP candidates. But they were his people. This is his fault. Without Trump to run against, Biden and the Democrats would probably have been roundly rebuked by voters. According to the exit poll, the same one that showed 74% of voters either “dissatisfied” or “angry” about the direction of the country, the only person more disliked than Biden was Trump.
Trump joked in an Election Day interview, “Well, I think if [Republicans] win, I should get all the credit. If they lose, I should not be blamed at all.” But many a true word is spoken in jest, and the truth is that this is the way Trump thinks. Entirely uninterested in the fortunes of his party or, apparently, the country, he regards elections not as a way of securing better governance for the public but as a way of accumulating accolades and glory for himself. His joke captures the essence of Trump’s approach. All the upside is his to keep. All the burden is for others to bear. This is why Trump raised over $100 million allegedly to help Republican candidates, but he ended up keeping 90% of the money for himself.
An election that leaves the House and Senate so closely divided may seem like it does not send a clear message. But this one does. These midterm elections have made it crystal clear that voters want to move past the chaos and dishonor of the 45th president. They want the security and sanity that a competent and effective leader can provide. The Republican Party needs to recognize that, too, and act accordingly.
