First of all, I was wrong, very wrong, about how I read the election. I was of the belief that the GOP, despite some less-than-ideal candidates in key races, was still positioned to take control of the Senate and the House.

Today, the Senate is gone and it’s not because the election was stolen but instead squandered by the Red Team.

Let me start with this, this past Tuesday is the last time I will ever vote on Election Day unless the rules are changed in the future. I now know that in Michigan, where I live, I must follow the rules as written by the Democrats—and that’s ok.

I will vote on the first day possible and then I will do what Democrats have been doing successfully for the last two election cycles. I will call my friends and anyone else I know to make sure they have voted. I am happy to do whatever I can under the current laws and any new laws coming. These new laws could include allowances for picking up ballots and dropping them off at drop boxes. I don’t like this either, but to win on Election Day we have to run up the score early just like the Democrats did in 2020 and 2022.

I know this must happen because in Michigan—and I am guessing in many parts of the country—large numbers of people who voted for Donald Trump in 2020 stayed home in 2022.

An analysis from Bridge Michigan looked at all 83 Michigan counties and it found that in every single county Trump voters didn’t cast ballots in huge numbers. In one of the most important counties in the state for the GOP, Macomb County, the Trump voters dropped more than 25%. The same was true in Wayne and Genesee counties too.

This wasn’t just an urban phenomenon. In critical rural areas like Shiawassee, Eaton, and Livingston counties, the drop was 15 to 20%. You cannot win if you don’t get your low propensity voters to cast a ballot. This is where the Democrats have mastered the game in recent cycles.

Clearly Never Trumpers have been a nuisance to the America First agenda since 2015, BUT Only Trumpers are deadly to Republican chances of winning any important races at all—EVER AGAIN. If we don’t start playing the game—by the rules the Democrats put in place—things will never change. So, get used to voting early and then getting as many people as you can to do the same. Do whatever it takes to get them on the board and make sure they turn in a ballot.

This is the only way Republicans can win in several states now including Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania—all of which are critical to winning a presidential election.

And by the way, if you voted for President Trump and claim to be a patriot but made some lame excuse for not showing up this time around to vote, then what is happening is in large part on you. I for one don’t want to hear you complain, not until you do better and do your part by getting off the couch and participating.

We are at a critical juncture for the Republican Party. The Democrats have the Senate, and it seems the Republicans will have the House—but only by a hair and that is still not guaranteed, so more digging is needed.

What else did we miss?

Well, abortion was a large factor in the election—bigger than I anticipated—and I warned you early on that this all or none divide on abortion was not a great place for Republicans. This is because people—especially young people—were far more likely to go with pro-choice positions over outright abortion bans.

Now we come to Generation Z. This is the one that I missed completely and so did just about everyone else. Generation Z voted in large numbers relative to young people voting in the past, with those under 30 voting heavily Democrat. Clearly, we have not raised these kids well.
The economy was the number one issue every poll showed it, and every poll still shows it. But for Gen-Z it’s not much of an issue. They have lived very easy lives with mom and dad busting ass so they can sit on theirs and complain. They have also been trained to hate Republicans for as long as they have been alive. That’s an issue too.
The other group that voted hard blue was single women. In most other categories Republicans did pretty well. But pretty well—including winning the national popular vote by a wide margin was woefully inadequate.

And that brings me to the question of leadership.

Mitch McConnell has got to go. The idea that he spent millions on the Alaska Senate race is outrageous. It was never going to a Democrat he just wanted for his RINO friend Lisa Murkowski. Kevin McCarthy also failed to create any serious messaging before the Election and should not get the gavel even if the Republicans squeak out the majority.