Boy howdy. Republicans got creamed across the board last night. Particularly on the national at state levels. Some were shockers, some were unexpected. As we all navel gaze about what went wrong, we should be trying to figure out the lessons we SHOULD learn from this midterm shellacking.
I’ve spent much of today just really thinking about how we got here. As Deanna outlined here, a significant part is President Trump’s ego along with the gas prices, inflation, Iran, and more.

WOW!
What an absolute wipe out.

Proof positive that people vote their pocketbook and if you start a war, you have to win it. Especially if that war also causes economic pain to Americans.

The only advantage Republicans have is Dems cannot fix the economy. They only know how to… pic.twitter.com/15fPU3lI6s

— Jim Hanson (@JimHansonDC) November 4, 2026

Vice President JD Vance gets it.

Vice President JD Vance delivered a blunt assessment of Republicans’ sweeping midterm losses Wednesday morning, pointing at the Iran war as the driving force behind the party’s election-night defeats.

“But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone,” said Vance on X.

“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night. If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest. But everyone knows why we lost,” said Vance. “And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”

It’s well past time that we put this Iran war to bed. Stop playing diplomatic footsie with these terrorists and end it. Same with Russia and Ukraine. Neither of those countries are our friends.

But that’s not all of it. It’s the fact that Americans WANT things to get done. They want their country safer with closed borders. They don’t want fraud in their communities. They definitely want things like the SAVE Act passed.

Over the last two years, Senate Republicans have put up a strong record of accomplishment that’s created safer streets, more money in Americans’ pockets, and new opportunities for families and businesses to get ahead. After fighting Democrat obstruction at every turn, we…

— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) November 4, 2026

John Thune, are you paying attention?? You’ve sat on the SAVE Act for two freaking years now. You’ve sat on 600 pieces of legislation and counting. You are one of the reasons for this midterm shellacking. So are you Senator John Barrasso. Both of you sat on this key legislation for no good reason. Do NOT tell me the votes weren’t there. They were.

And yet @LeaderJohnThune That price of shit RINO couldn’t pass the SAVE Act Hmmmm

— Hernny (@ConnA91930) November 4, 2026

Another thing is that Republicans on the national level have spent far too much time throwing road blocks in each others way and having temper tantrums in Congress. All while the Democrats just keep plowing forward with their narratives and agenda. Yes, I’m looking at you Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Republicans on the national level squandered ALL the opportunities the American people gave them when Trump was reelected. and NOW you want to whine about the differences and lecture US about not working hard enough??

The lesson here is that the leadership failed US. We noticed. And voted accordingly.

The Colorado GOP is in such disarray that they couldn’t and wouldn’t form around a strong principled candidate for Governor in Barbara Kirkmeyer with years of strong fiscal experience as a Commissioner and then State Legislator. Nope, the disarray was so bad that we ended up with Victor Marx on the ticket. A guy with a backstory with so many holes in it you could drive an aircraft carrier through it. His website may have talked about the issues, but when it came time for him to articulate an agenda and knowledge of the issues, he cratered. People noticed. Quite frankly, I’m surprised he even reached 33% of the vote. So now Colorado is stuck with Phil Weiser, who has already wasted hundreds of thousands taxpayer dollars on nearly 90 lawsuits agains the Trump Administration. Further, the Colorado GOP’s in-fighting led to Jena Griswold, who left our election systems wide open at least five times over these last years, getting elected as Attorney General. Fabulous.

The GOP in-fighting wasn’t confined to Colorado. It manifested itself all over the country.

The lesson here is that the GOP needs to get out of its own way. They need to and must focus on the issues and stop playing nice in the sandbox. Why? Because the Democrats always, and I mean ALWAYS steamroll over Republicans. Democrats don’t play nice. They play to win. Republicans need to and MUST absorb that lesson and start using is.

Here’s another lesson for Republicans and the GOP establishment. You know what did pass in numerous states? Referendums on transgenders in sports and keeping kids safe from medical harm.

DDHQ Race Update (est. 62% in): Washington Initiative Measure No. IL26-638 Sex Verification Requirements for Female School Sports

Yes (N): 1,119,192 (56.8%)
No (N): 852,539 (43.2%)

Follow more results here:https://t.co/1gVKmpQ6WJ pic.twitter.com/ywkYCrpVpY

— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 4, 2026

THOSE are the things that American voters are paying attention to. Republicans had better pull the blinders off and realize how much good will they threw away in just two short years.

I’m a die hard conservative. And voted straight Republican ticket. But let’s be honest, republicans owned the house, senate, presidency and the Supreme Court…..and wasted it away. Completely. No Save America Act. No Clarity Act. No prosecutions for obvious politicians and deep… pic.twitter.com/zNLIpFOpq5

— BKS (@BrianKSouthard) November 4, 2026

To me, the biggest lesson is this. Republicans need to get their shit together and fast. Democrats are gleefully planning law fare against the Trump Administration and any Republican they deem is unfit.

Republicans played nice, or hardly showed up. Which is why socialist and communists were elected across multiple states.

One final note: Many of the national, state, and some local GOP campaigns spent money on shrill ads screaming about how bad their opponent is. What we did NOT hear is a plan, ANY plan to right the ship. Democrats, on the other hand, had lots of ideas and proposals to present. People saw solutions being presented from Democrats. Little to none from Republicans.

Vote for me because I’m a Republican is NOT a winning strategy. And it showed last night.