Thursday, November 5, 2026

Republicans lost because voters were sick of their sh-t

 

Republicans lost because voters were sick of their sh-t

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/11/4/800122723/elections/why-republicans-lost-midterms/ 

Republicans lost because voters were sick of their sh-t

by kos
Staff
270
Share:




Save
285 Comments
Add Daily Kos to Google
Republican Senate candidate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at an election night event Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Republican Ken Paxton lost his Texas Senate race against Democrat James Talarico.AP

Right-wing pundit Erick Erickson, whose radio show succeeded Rush Limbaugh’s, has been in a civil war against the Groyper wing of his party—the white nationalists led by Nick Fuentes and others.

Wednesday morning, Erickson vented about the GOP’s epic midterms defeat, railing against conservatives who insist that Republicans lost only because of the war in Iran and high gas prices.

Last night, the American constitutional system worked as designed and worked so well and so thoroughly that the party that lied to itself in 2020 that it had lost only because the election was stolen is now lying to itself that it lost only because of gas prices and war. Last night’s drubbing was too complete to be theft.

It was gas prices.

And it was the war.

But it was also calling affordability a “hoax.”

And it was also the corruption.

The incompetence.

The tariffs.

The playing nice with Russia while treating our allies worse than our enemies.

The impression of cruelty.

The overly aggressive deportations.

The accidental arrests of American citizens who were Hispanic.

The arrogance.

The ballroom.

The reflecting pool.

The golf courses.

The arch.

The Qatari 747.

The aggressive redistricting push.

The threats against enemies.

It turns out a weekend Fox and Friends host might not be a reassuring beacon of competence to Americans.

This is … actually a pretty good list. And it’s remarkable that the reasons for the GOP’s defeat aren’t obvious to everyone on the right. But being in a cult means wearing blinders.

But I’d also add a few things to Erickson’s list:

  • The performative outrage over former President Barack Obama’s Cheesecake Factory joke—a desperate attempt to manufacture culture-war distractions
  • The gutting of healthcare
  • The expensive spectacles, from President Donald Trump’s birthday military parade to the MMA fight at the White House
  • The pointless renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario
  • The trashing of the Kennedy Center, complete with Trump’s attempts to slap his name on it

And then there’s the cruelty.

Erickson would disagree, as a conservative Christian, but the relentless anti-trans hysteria belongs on that list too. It feeds into the same perception of cruelty as Trump’s violent deportations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement killings, and Trump’s endless bullying and name-calling on social media.

Vivek Ramaswamy tried running on that platform of cruelty and lost his bid for governor of Ohio—a state that Trump carried by more than 11 points in 2024—in a stunning 16-point swing.

A cartoon by Jack Ohman showing Trump speaking in front of the Reflecting Pool as a giant blue wave comes up over him.
Jack Ohman/Tribune Content Agency

In Kansas, Sen. Roger Marshall went over the top accusing his Democratic opponent, megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton, of grooming children. Hamilton defeated Marshall by more than 6 points.

In South Carolina, appointed nepo-sister Darline Graham accused her Democratic opponent, Annie Andrews, of being “plain old batshit crazy,” while Trump called her “tranny Annie”—an insult that GOP Sen. Tim Scott was happy to echo. Andrews defeated Graham, 50.6% to 47.1%.

The list is endless—voters were clearly fed up.

I never understood why “Sleepy Joe” was supposed to be such a devastating insult. Did people really want a 24/7 circus running the government? After two years of Trump’s exhausting spectacle, perhaps Americans are realizing how good they once had it.

It’s actually nice not to have to think about the president every freakin’ day. And when you do think about him, ideally it’s because he did something nice, helpful, or kind—something that made your life better. Something delivered with a smile rather than a scowl and a sneer.

I think it’s okay to admit that Woke 1.0 was a bit of a circus. MAGA was a total shitshow.

Now it’s time for Democrats to govern as a serious, sensible, measured, and pragmatic party—laser-focused on affordability and clean government. Less performative outrage. Less culture-war bullshit. More improving people’s lives.

Because if Democrats fail to deliver again, Woke 2.0 will eventually give way to MAGA 2.0.

And we already know what that hell looks like.

We'll get straight to the point: The financial hardships that Daily Kos is facing this year are tough.

We continue to be paywall-free. We continue to be supported by our readers, not billionaires or corporations. But we need to bring in more revenue. We are leaning on our community more than ever to help make ends meet. Can you donate $5 or more to support Daily Kos and our continued work?

$
OR
Donate with
10 Tags
5 Groups Republished
Climate Hawks DK Fans of 90 for 90 Retail and Workplace Pragmatists – Members and Editors Subversive Agitation Team Action Network Team DFH

Was this story worth reading?

Recommending and sharing stories helps us decide which stories are most important to show our readers.

270
Share:




Conversation

|

All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. The views expressed in comments are those of the individual authors and don't necessarily reflect the views of Daily Kos.

All Comments

  1. Comment by X9000.

    Can you imagine if Trump had hired qualified ethical people with his agenda? Respect for the Constitution…. Nothing illegal?

    That in itself is a scary nightmare

  2. Comment by kailyDos.

    Excuse me, I don't see Epstein files in the list

  3. Comment by evolvingplanet.

    This wasn't about Woke 1.0 or anything similar.

    The data show what we should already know because it is ever the case:

    Black women: 94% democratic vote

    Black men: 77% democratic vote

    White women: 59% republican vote

    White men: 61% republican vote

    These patterns have causes and consequences. Leave 'woke' out of it.

  4. Comment by GypsyT.

    We warned them. Over and over and over again. They chose to ignore us rather than listen. These are the consequences. They only have themselves to blame.

    • Reply by IndySidesWithBlue.

      I believe it was Paul Ryan who lectured the left after 2016: “Elections have consequences”.

      Ah, the Karma! It still tickles today (but I agree with the conclusion of the article, more rolling up sleeves now and getting to work!)

  6. Comment by davidkc.

    One thing you don't mention is that a lot of people of color and others are beyond sick and tired of the Trump regime's constant and blatant racism. Hundreds of thousands of Black women lost their jobs through the DOGE cuts - they were disproportionately impacted by these cuts. Hegseth firing and refusing to promote primarily Black and women generals. Trump constantly publicly berating, demeaning and verbally abusing primarily Black women journalists. Trump publicly berating, demeaning and verbally abusing any Black woman who stands up to him (Letitia James, Lisa Cook, etc.). Trump constantly trashing Somalians and Haitians - with Trump constantly trashing Rep. Ilhan Omar and siccing his FBI on here, ICE brutally rounding up Somalian and Haitian immigrants. Trump just saying racist shit all the time. And of course the constant anti-Latino drumbeat from the Trump regime related to ICE detentions and deportations. Trump's and the GOP's rabid anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bullshit. I could go on. My apologies if I'm being too "woke" to point this out.

    • Reply by ecortez.

      Yes, they've been openly antagonistic to everyone in the country who isn't white, conservative, and male. The problem for Republicans is that this is the majority of the US population. Hence Tuesday's ass kicking.

    • Reply by X9000.

      You can’t predict if people will respond as you’d expect. Thank God they did.

      MAGA. Trump cuts their benefits and increases their expenses and he still has a 30% following.

    • Reply by ecortez.

      The white Christian nationalists of the old Confederacy. That's who we're talking about. Their racism is more important to them than their own lives. Thankfully we don't need them to form a governing majority, if everyone else shows up and votes - which they didn't in 2024 but did on Tuesday.

  7. Comment by fengshu.

    Maybe the point I'm going to make has already been made in the diary, but I think simmering underneath all the other more prominent weaknesses of republicans is the simple fact that most Americans are just sick and tired of Trump's mendacious, remorseless, self-aggrandizing bullshit. The man lies as casually as you or I blink. His ideas are always better; he always knows more than anybody; he's done more great things than any man alive; he should be on Mt. Rushmore. The list is endless and ridiculous. At some point you just roll your eyes and think to yourself, "OK, grandpa. Time for the senior home were you can get the care you need."

  8. Comment by Paoli Graveyard.

    Concise. The Communist transgenders in a landslide.

  9. Comment by I FLY 757.

    When you inherit the wind, be careful not to blow it.

  10. Comment by kurious.

    The gutting of government.

    The sociopathic, law-breaking incompetents--including a record number of Billionaires--in positions of power, who are running amuck--ruining careers, lives, and their Agencies, including, but not limited to: Pete Hegseth, Todd Blanche, Kash Patel, RFK, etc.

    The massive, widespread corruption and lawlessness of those in positions of power--and their families. Billionaires, like Musk, getting rich off of taxpayer funded contracts, while given the power to slash services to taxpayers.

  11. Comment by evolvingplanet.

    A. It took them far too long.

    B. How long until the next Trump seduces Americans?

    • Reply by IndySidesWithBlue.

      I’m actually not worried about that. Are we going to fall for “my tax returns are still under audit” or “that was the tweet my lawyer sent”? No, we are not.

      As with after the Great Depression, after the Civil Rights Movement, after Watergate, and after the 2008 Recession, we updated laws to counter these disasters then watched them get watered down or ignored. We can’t let that happen again. We know how to apply fixes we just don’t know how to keep the fixes (actually we do - don’t elect the MAGA)

  12. Comment by keirmeister.

    I think the massive Republican losses are simple to understand: it’s not necessarily because voters grew sick of their sh*t; it’s because they finally, personally felt the economic hurt from it.

    I have no doubt that if people weren’t financially hurting so much, they would have tolerated more right-wing crap.

  13. Comment by Pam LaPier.

    At some point, they must be tried and convicted for their myriad of awfulness. I've been a bit concerned that people want Trump to finish his last 2 years. Why on earth would we do that? For me, the first to be handled should be the SCOTUS and Stephen Miller but eventually Trump must go to jail.

  14. Comment by DrDevlin.

    Erickson's list makes me think of the Shakespeare character Parolles, who is overheard giving a perceptive soliloquy about his own failings.

    A character who overhears him asks "Is it possible he could know what he is, yet be what he is?"

    Which I guess is Jacobean English for "so close to getting it".

  15. Comment by PoshKartel.

    I also think there should be plenty of performative outrage and hearings (including impeachment) up the wazoo, exposing all the rampant criminality and vile cover ups of this regime.

  16. Comment by PoshKartel.

    “Wednesday morning, Erickson vented about the GOP’s epic midterms defeat, railing against conservatives who insist that Republicans lost only because of the war in Iran and high gas prices.“

    This is also what a lot of moderate / liberal friends and family members are saying. I get it, and to some extent, it might be giving former Trump voters too much credit to say they finally had a come to Jesus moment that wasn’t related to gas prices.

    But yeah I agree with Erickson and the premise of the article that, more than just gas prices, a certain percentage of the right has started to see the emperor for what he really is, not so much policy wise or even criminality wise, but just in terms of his utter ineptitude and lack of capacity to perform the duties of his job.

  17. Comment by navkid.

    Kos..... I am asking YOU YES YOU. What exactly do we want ? I want accountability yes I want people to understand there will be consequences absolutely. But then you see folks who say well we don't know these people can get the job done Based on speeches et cetera.

    I mean what do we want do we want accountability do we want justice or do we want vengeance. Because there's a difference between those things. You got people here who don't seem to understand that. Trump flouts the law does that mean we have to ?

    I don't like to use the word And I'm probably gonna get if cause if I use the word it's probably gonna get me censored but we know the word I'm talking about.

    I'm an African-American male Kos born in the 1960s in Alabama. You want horror stories sit down and listen to my mom sometime talk about growing up in Mississippi. If anybody's got a right to be truly angry other than Native Americans it's us.... And we are. But for everything that has been talked about with ice and everything else et cetera as bad as it is I guarantee you you talk to an 80 year-old black woman growing up in the south she will match you word for word

    Tell me how you get the job done without going to the extremes that the very people we have been fighting. Because if you read some of the comments that are in this thread there are people that would not mind going that way.

  18. Comment by Saint Genesius.

    I agree with this. In fact, I wrote something similar yesterday that this is an opportunity the Democrats need to accept is being offered. It’s not, necessarily, a sea change.

    People are fed up with Maga and Trump and his entire circus, but they are merely offering the opportunity for Democrats to show what they can do.

    I think it’s important to understand that if, as many on the left, as suggested, we need to turn this into the Democratic version of the retribution tour, American voters are going to see that as exactly the same insanity that they just got out of

    American people are hurting, they need to know that their government is at the very least trying to salve that pain.

  19. Comment by dadadata.

    Don't forget the murders without accountability.

  20. Comment by christianlibrul2.

    BEING sick of their shit is nothing. RepubliCONs lost because ENOUGH decent people were sick enough of their shit to GET OUT AND VOTE.

Add your comment

Active Conversations

The following is a list of the most commented articles in the last 7 days.

Trending Conversations

The following is a list of the most commented articles in the last 2 days.

 

Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)