Confession time: I didn’t have it in me to write about the fallout from the elections last week. I had a feeling that Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City were going to go the way they did. What shocked me was Georgia’s Public Service Commission (PSC) elections, which went far too heavily in the Democrats’ favor.
We’re used to tight statewide elections in the Peach State, thanks to the outsized influence of metro Atlanta Democrats, but both elections were blowouts, roughly 63-37 in favor of the Dems. What happened?
I had conversations with some Georgia political insiders, and of course, there are tons of reasons for last week’s results. In most of the state, the PSC was the only thing on the ballot, which doesn’t motivate many people to turn out. The Republican incumbents didn’t campaign much at all until right before the election, while the Democrats motivated their base. The PSC controls utility rates, and many Georgia Power customers voted anti-incumbent as a protest vote.
After these conversations, I still didn’t feel like writing about it. But then an email from a friend of mine got me thinking about the midterms. My friend Cole Muzio, president of Frontline Policy, reminded his email list about the consequences of complacent conservatives:
In 2018, we nearly lost control of our state. Two years later, Georgia played an infamous role in surrendering the presidency and two Senate seats.
And, in 2022, we saw both resurgence and failure - with the Governor buoyed by a near-250,000 vote increase that created coattails for our state officers while a lousy US Senate candidate cost us our ability to unseat Warnock. [That last part was a tough realization about one of my childhood heroes, Herschel Walker. —CQ]
Last year, a good message and clear unity delivered victory… only for us to again grow complacent.
As Democrats are wont to do, they believe that they have a mandate based on some off-year elections. It emboldened Senate Dems to dig their heels in on the Schumer shutdown, and they’ve gotten awfully cocky with 2026 in their sights.
Cole put it this way: “…the radicals who have been chomping at the bit to take Georgia for their agenda now ‘smell blood.’ They are coming, and they are coming with everything they’ve got.”
Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn Everybody: Think Tuesday’s Vote Doesn’t Matter? Wait Till You See Your Power Bill.
Emboldened Democrats are dangerous, and we can’t afford to rest on our laurels. After the successes of 2024, we have to get our base out, motivated, and excited for 2026.
The Democrats caught us on our heels last Tuesday. That means we can’t shrink back. It’s time to go on offense — and stay there.
“A failure to heed, a failure to prepare for battle, and a failure to plan for victory will result in the reversal of every victory and the implementation of an agenda that will shake the very foundations of our state,” Cole wrote. Of course, it’s not just the state of Georgia; it’s the nation as a whole.
Democrats fired a shot across the bow on November 4. We’re battling for our nation, and we can’t afford to lose the war. It's time for us to prepare for the midterms, and that means shaking off our complacency.
Let’s go!
