Tuesday night wasn’t a good night at all. It was an ugly defeat that so few of us saw coming. It’s easy to think that all is lost, but it isn’t.
Yes, we need to lick our wounds, figure out what went wrong and what needs to change, and grieve a difficult election. But the fight isn’t over. Instead, it’s just beginning — and we’re all in this fight together.
That’s right: The fights for 2028 and 2030 are underway. This is no time to give up or shrink back. We know what we’re up against, and as a result, we need to stand up for what we believe taller and more resolutely than ever before.
The Democrats got much of what they wanted, so let’s hold them accountable. Let’s call out every bad measure and every over-the-top statement. Let’s hold their feet to the fire in every state and local office they hold.
Let’s fight for the best possible Republican candidates to challenge these Democrats in the next two election cycles. We must find solidly conservative candidates who can articulate a compelling vision and show the true alternative to what the Democrats are offering, and we must unite behind them and push them on to victory.
Related: A Great Night for Republicans in Florida
And that work doesn't start in 2028. It starts today, in our communities, in local elections, and in every opportunity we have to make our voices heard.
That means showing up long before the next election. It means paying attention to what's happening at city hall, in the state legislature, and in Washington. It means talking to our neighbors, holding elected officials accountable, and refusing to let one bad election convince us that our voices don't matter.
We also need to shake a defeatist attitude. Y’all, I went to bed after midnight feeling vanquished and exhausted. This morning I woke up remembering that God is in control. As a Christian, I’m convinced and convicted that God is sovereign and that His good and perfect will will be done.
I think of the words of the author of Hebrews:
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Hebrews 10:36–39 (ESV)
I also think of the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:9, where he wrote, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Let’s also remember the words of Walt Disney: "I believe that this frightfulness we see every day is only temporary. Tomorrow will be better."
Don’t give up hope. Don’t wallow in defeat. Don’t fall into a pit of despair. Yes, we’re in for a rough few years ahead, but we know whom we’re fighting. We know the alternative, and we can present that vision in a captivating way.
Or, as my friend and colleague Jamie Wilson put it in our Slack discussion, “Fight, fight, fight, fight HARDER!”
Our fight is just beginning, and here at PJ Media, we’re not going to let up! We’re going to do everything we can to pave the way for turning the tide in 2028, 2030, and beyond. Stand up tall, stay strong and hopeful, and fight alongside us!