Election 2026 is over, and it didn’t go well. Final tallies are still trickling in for California (they always do), but those elections are a foregone conclusion. The AP called the California governor’s race at the closing of the polls, and I am too jaded by liberal Californians’ repeated votes for failure to scream about voter fraud. No matter how much fraud there may be, I have witnessed enough town halls and political discourse in this state to recognize that Californians are afflicted with Republican Derangement Syndrome and Trump Derangement Syndrome in particular.
Perennial politician and policy nonentity Xavier Becerra is the governor-elect. He crumbled in debates, then hid from voters and reporters during the campaign season. In contrast, Republican Fox News host-turned-populist author Steve Hilton campaigned everywhere, in heavily Democrat areas as well as Republican strongholds. Hilton hustled; he had good ideas; he even posted advertisements on major freeways (unheard of for a Republican candidate), yet he still fell short.
Across the country, Democrats made unprecedented gains in ruby-red states. These states have election integrity measures and voter protections. Democrats swamped the vote and won fair and square.
Sure, my predictions were wrong, but hope has to take that risk. I choose to be optimistic about every election, no matter how daunting the odds. No matter how severe the odds or how disappointing the losses, I have learned to persevere, and hopefully the country will, as well. We survived Joe Biden, and voters rejected Kamala Harris in 2024 to give Trump a second mandate.
Then what happened? Trump rode a wave of strong support at the outset of his second term. Americans wanted a return to order, and he reversed the damage of the Biden years. Two years later, voters have given congressional power to the woke Democrats committed to the cults of climate change, transgenderism, and socialism.
Did high gas prices and inflation so embitter American voters that they would allow woke communists to take power? Sadly, yes. They should have looked past the high gas prices and reflected on President Trump’s accomplishments: record job creation, mass deportations, lower rents, protection of life and family, and restored prestige for the American military and the American experiment.
Regarding the war in Iran, President Trump did the right thing in targeting that rogue regime’s nuclear enrichment program. The United States would have stood helpless against an Islamic nuclear holocaust, along with the rest of the civilized world, if the Ayatollahs and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps had established an impenetrable wall of missiles to protect their nuclear enrichment. Since Jimmy Carter, no president has wanted to take on and take down the fanatical, megalomaniacal Islamic regime. Trump showed the necessary political courage.
If Republicans suffered because Trump put America First by taking out the world’s biggest geopolitical threat, so be it. I reject the dismissive commentary of Matt Walsh, who declared: “I'd rather Iran have a nuke than my country be run by communists.” Can’t we have both? We should seek both outcomes, and we should not disparage Trump for doing the right thing, even if he didn’t get the messaging right or struggled to corral other Republicans to focus on more domestic victories.
What other lessons can we draw from this midterm mess?
1. Let’s start with a lighter note: Guam’s results are not indicative of the election results to come across the country. I was so hopeful yesterday afternoon when I read Trump’s announcement about our little territory far away in the Pacific Ocean.
In 2022, a Republican won the Congressional delegate seat, the first time in 30 years, yet Republicans enjoyed only a red trickle across the rest of the country. In 2026, Republicans won Guam’s governor’s race, but the results were even worse for Republicans elsewhere.
Guam’s election results were not a perfect harbinger by any means. Lesson learned.
2. Republicans in red states took their longstanding dominance for granted, and voters are tired of it. Iowa, Texas, and Ohio turned blue this season, after years of Republican rule in the legislature and statewide offices, because they were angry with the lack of results at the state level. Some candidates were so damaged, like Ken Paxton, or had so upset the Republican base, like Vivek Ramaswamy, that Republican voters did not turn out for them.
Mississippi’s U.S. Senate seat is trending Democrat, as well: unthinkable to some, but I have followed statewide election trends in the Magnolia State, and the Republican gubernatorial candidates have been winning by diminishing margins. Corruption issues and lack of conservative legislative success have outraged voters there, too.
3. Republican voters feel betrayed by Trump, and they took it out on his party. Whether those feelings are justified is another story, but telling people “Everything is fine” while they face rising costs is not a winning electoral strategy. Then again, Trump’s leadership has been nothing but winning, even if congressional Republicans didn’t step up.
What are the silver linings to the Republican Election Disaster of 2026?
1. My favorite executive, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is the biggest winner. Throughout his excellent and effective tenure, he committed himself to policy goals and gains, no matter what happened in Washington. He made promises, he kept them, and turned Florida into a Republican stronghold so stable that Republicans carried all statewide offices this year despite the blue tsunami. Governor-elect Byron Donalds owes him a great deal. Voters want results and a mission, not memes and noise, and DeSantis delivered. He is a strong contender for 2028 now, despite MAGA naysayers offended by his 2024 primary challenge.
2. Idaho’s abortion initiative, Proposition One, failed despite the motivated liberal turnout on Election Day. Conservative values can withstand and win against unfavorable political environments. The pro-life movement mobilized early to fight this horrid attempt to enshrine abortion rights in the Gem State, and they succeeded. This is a huge win because abortion measures had been passing around the country up to now.
3. Voter ID and “Citizen Voter Only” initiatives won big across the country, despite Democrats replacing Republicans in GOP strongholds. President Trump’s efforts to secure the vote should not be scuttled or dismissed. Republicans need to focus on these popular issues and accomplish them!
4. Initiatives to protect women’s sports from confused men have won in Arizona and Nebraska, and they are winning even in deep-blue Colorado. Even Washington State’s initiative to keep boys out of girls’ sports is succeeding. This is great!
5. In uber-liberal California, voters rejected the awful Millionaire’s Tax, Proposition 40, with the help of massive donations from wealthy job creators who would have fled the state if it passed. Voters also supported Proposition 42 to protect savings and other property from taxes. When there’s no partisan messaging but a clear commitment to doing what is best for voters, good initiatives can succeed in California.
Democrats may have won big this year, but not because their ideas are great. Republicans need to make MAGA happen consistently, not just talk about it. Am I worried for the future? No. Democrats in Congress and across the country will overplay their hand, and Republicans will capitalize on their failures to surge back in 2028.