Tuesday Night Sucked. Now, Get Over It.

Tuesday Night Sucked. Now, Get Over It.

Reflecting on a tough election night and the lessons it brings for the future. I have followed elections since 1972—back when I was that second-grader who cared about Richard Nixon winning, even though my classmate Justin Poe claimed Nixon voted for himself 20 times.

There have been great nights—Reagan in 1980, the 1994 midterms, Trump in 2016 and 2024—and bad nights. This one was truly bad, bleak with no sign of hope, an electoral setback akin to the harsh reversal of Roe v. Wade.

"Some election nights are good, some nights are meh, and some nights suck."

Although we lost almost everything, this wasn’t a disaster on the scale of Obama’s 2012 defeat. Well, except for New York City, but they can manage. The election felt like walking barefoot on a San Francisco sidewalk after a hobo chili cook-off—unpleasant but not revealing any new, catastrophic truths dooming us for next year’s midterms.

It's crucial we learn from this experience and prepare for 2026. I predicted these results, as did most observers. In states like Virginia, New Jersey, California, and New York, Democrat strongholds voted for… wait for it… Democrats.

"The simplest explanation is probably the explanation," summed up by my faith in Occam’s Razor.

The most straightforward reason Democrats won in Democrat areas is simply that they were Democrats. Losing is part of politics.

Author’s summary: Election nights vary—some inspire hope, others disappoint—but learning from losses is essential to future success in the political arena.

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Townhall Townhall — 2025-11-07

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