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The American people sent a clear message in Tuesday’s midterm elections. But Democrats would be making a serious mistake if they interpreted their victories as an endorsement of socialism.
Voters weren’t demanding bigger government. They wanted relief from the affordability crisis.
Republicans shouldn’t dismiss the results as a typical midterm setback either. The coalition that delivered President Donald Trump the White House and Republican control of Congress in 2024 expected results.
MEHEK COOKE: REPUBLICANS FAILED THE AFFORDABILITY TEST. THIS IS HOW TO WIN VOTERS BACK
The voters who hired Republicans to fix the affordability crisis are now holding them accountable for failing to deliver.
People march during a protest after the killing of Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (Getty Images)
Americans were tired of inflation, unaffordable housing and watching their paychecks buy less. They believed Republicans would make their lives better.
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But somewhere between winning and governing, Republicans lost control of that message.
Trump had a legitimate argument for tariffs: rebuilding American manufacturing and bringing back jobs lost under decades of trade policies, including NAFTA, signed by President Bill Clinton. But Republicans never adequately explained the long-term benefits. Voters heard about tariffs while worrying about higher prices.
The same communications failure plagued the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Republicans made lower individual tax rates permanent, restored immediate expensing for qualifying business investments and prevented trillions in scheduled tax increases. Yet how many Americans could explain what that legislation actually did for them?
What good is passing legislation that helps working families and small businesses if you can’t explain how it makes their lives better?
Healthcare was another squandered opportunity.
When enhanced COVID-19-era Obamacare subsidies expired, Republicans could have offered a serious affordability alternative built around price transparency, competition and consumer choice. Instead, they surrendered the conversation.
Healthcare is part of the affordability crisis. Families don’t separate their mortgage, groceries, insurance premiums and deductibles into political categories. It all comes from the same paycheck.
Perhaps the biggest warning came from Hispanic voters.
The voters who hired Republicans to fix the affordability crisis are now holding them accountable for failing to deliver.
Trump made historic gains in 2024 by speaking to their economic aspirations, entrepreneurial spirit and desire for safe communities.
Following Trump’s 2024 victory, his pollster, John McLaughlin, observed that Republicans had rented the Hispanic vote and warned they needed to work to keep it.
Unfortunately, they acted as though they owned it.
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Economic frustration drove much of the erosion in support, but immigration enforcement contributed. Trump promised to secure the border and prioritize dangerous criminals. Instead, broader enforcement created fear in Hispanic communities, including among those who supported stronger border security.
Republicans worked hard to win those voters in 2024 and then seemingly forgot what brought them into the Republican column. They failed to maintain that trust, much less expand it.
Michigan Democratic Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed speaks at an election night event, early Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
My home state of Florida should be a wake-up call.
Republicans can celebrate electing Byron Donalds as Florida’s first Black governor and holding major statewide offices. But Donalds narrowly defeated David Jolly despite a roughly 1.5-million Republican voter-registration advantage.
That advantage provided a cushion against the national Democratic swing, not immunity from it. Those margins should concern Republican leaders.
Then there’s the war with Iran.
Whatever the administration’s strategic justification, it failed to make a compelling case to Americans already struggling financially. Voters saw higher gasoline prices without a clearly articulated reason for the conflict.
None of this gives Democrats a mandate to push socialist policies.
A vote against Republican performance isn’t necessarily a vote for higher taxes, more government spending or expanded bureaucracy. Many of these same voters supported Trump just two years ago because they wanted a different economic direction.
Democrats have earned an opportunity to address affordability, not a blank check for an ideological agenda.
Republicans, meanwhile, need to reconnect their policies to the people they’re supposed to serve. Lower taxes, stronger small businesses, affordable healthcare and greater economic opportunity remain a compelling agenda. But voters need to see and feel the benefits.
Following Trump’s 2024 victory, his pollster, John McLaughlin, observed that Republicans had rented the Hispanic vote and warned they needed to work to keep it. Unfortunately, they acted as though they owned it.
Tuesday’s election was not a mandate for socialism. It was a demand for affordability, accountability and results.
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Americans did not suddenly change what they wanted. They changed whom they trusted to deliver it.
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And unless both parties understand that distinction, they risk learning the same lesson all over again.
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