“Texas, soon to be a sanctuary state. Ugh.”
That’s how Ron DeSantis, the last big state GOP governor standing, reacted to the coming changes in large, prosperous states such as Texas and Georgia now that a leftist government has taken power.
Republicans lost ground in the Senate and House, but those losses remain largely confined to Congress, where the president can still filter the impact. The more immediate concerns should come from the Left’s gains in various gubernatorial races, many of which took place in former conservative strongholds.
Take the aforementioned state of Texas. Governor Greg Abbott has stewarded the Lone Star State through a decade of economic growth. He helped drive the state, and the nation at large, back to normal after the COVID pandemic and championed efforts to secure the southern border, opposing the worst of Joe Biden’s efforts. His administration’s work also strengthened border security nationwide.
However, Abbott lost to leftist state representative Gina Hinojosa. Hinojosa has all the markings of a liberal burdened by operating in Texas. A pro-choice “Catholic,” she wants to overregulate the big industries, turn Texas into a massive welfare state, and, as Governor DeSantis alluded to, turn the whole state into a sanctuary for illegal migrants.
Most of the new crop of Democrat governor-elects don’t carry the “socialist” moniker, but they all have similar platforms to Hinojosa, socialist in most everything but name.
But well-established incumbents like Abbott have historically weathered the storm even if their congressional counterparts suffer losses. Abbott should have won regardless of Congress, if only the Texas Senate candidate hadn’t run such a disastrous campaign.
Elected Texas Republicans already weren’t fans of Ken Paxton. Members of his own party impeached him. He wasn’t a particularly good campaigner but won the primary because President Donald Trump (and his base) hated incumbent John Cornyn. James Talarico, a terrible candidate in his own right, beat him with ease.
As the big-ticket race, the Paxton-Talarico matchup likely influenced the other contests, including three-term Governor Abbott’s race.
Other gubernatorial races also featured poor campaigns. Vivek Ramaswamy was the big favorite to win the Ohio governor race not that long ago. Between his decent presidential primary performance and good personal presentation, he seemed a rising star in GOP politics. But then he ran an ugly attack ad featuring his opponent’s estranged, abusive mother. Voters widely rejected that ad, and rightfully so, as it likely destroyed the strong gubernatorial candidate’s chance at victory and tanked Ohio Republicans across the ticket. It may have also hurt Senator John Husted, who lost his close reelection bid.
These governor elections have also seen a couple of long-standing Republican governments flip to the Left for the first time in decades. Both Iowa and Georgia have had GOP governors for multiple decades, and Republicans lost both races. Both states offer strong economic opportunities and a low cost of living, making them consistently attractive places to live. I’m not sure how much longer that will last with the socialist Left running things.
The GOP lost these races, and many others, because of weak candidates and/or the unpopular Trump administration. This election exposed the current government’s failure to make Americans feel heard and respected. Many of the GOP-nominated candidates were actively bad or flavorless career politicians going through the motions. Essentially, the Republicans’ strategy was to throw lots of money at the problem, point to the nearest leftist and say Can you believe this guy?, and hope that everyone would magically win their respective elections.
Because of all of this, we will pay the price. The balance of power may have shifted blue, but that doesn’t mean conservatives can’t still fight for true American ideals and present themselves in a way that shows the public what a better America can be. That is the way we must go. This too shall pass.
