2026 Election Thread

[Creeper]

Texas is surprising but the writing was on the wall when Florida was a nail biter. I do wonder though how places like Ohio, Texas and Florida can be in play but New York , CA, NJ and other liberal shit holes get called almost immediately for the Dem. Texas is in trouble, as is Florida. Which means the country is in trouble. The left has replaced voter enthusiasm with mail in ballots and idiot Republicans vote themselves into oblivion. It's a bad combination.

The issue now becomes, at least for me, is the SCOTUS. There will be 2 vacancies and I'm not sure Republicans can get the majority again. The left had a plan and played it perfectly while traitors like Thune just sat back and let them do it. There's a real possibility that 2A will be gone in our lifetime.

I am not from Texas, but my read on this, and maybe it is some wishful thinking, is that Abbott lost the Republicans base by turning moderate on immigration. Without the MAGA base voting in droves he had no chance.

On the other hand, Paxton was just damaged goods. I know MAGA loved what he was saying but it is not MAGA voters Republicans need to get. It is the independents. Republicans voters for some reason cannot fathom that there are people out there who actually do change their votes from Dem to Republicans and back depending on issues and candidate - or just who has the best campaign. You may not like it or believe it but the fact is, they exist. And they are 10 or more percent of the population which is more than enough to swing an election. You cannot dismiss them because you think they are kooky or stupid. They still vote.

 

[Creeper]

Unfortunately it was far worse than I expected. I knew we'd lose the House but was hopeful we could at least keep the Senate 50/50. The Governor races were bad too with my state and yours both electing extreme far left wing radicals to the top.

Trump will be able to veto everything that he wants, but this was 100% on GOP Leadership (Thune and Johnson). Johnson is just an incompetent do-nothing (which we all kind of knew) but Thune is a sewer rat combined with a nest of cockroaches. He deserves to be in prison for what he did, ignoring the will of 78+ million voters who clearly spoke in 2024. He conspired with Democrats to fuck over Trump and all his supporters and now they'll get to spend two years going to hearing after hearing and impeachment after impeachment because of it.

The only good news with that is if the Dems really do follow through on all their threats, they will likely face the wrath of the voters in 2028 when turnout will be far higher and lose everything. Between now and then the GOP needs to cut the ties with all loser fucking slob RINOs and make sure they have no significant role in the party ever again.

Anyone with open eye could see this was coming. Exit polls show once again the voters vote based on the economy - and the war, if there is one at the time. I knew this was coming and I warned all my Republican friends and family.

I do the food shopping in my family so I am buying groceries several times each week. Food prices are outrageous. I am paying at least double what I was paying before Biden took office. Yes, most of the price increases are Biden's inflation. But voters vote based on the guy in office who promised he would do something about it. Bitch all you want about how unfair it is but it doesn't matter to many voters. What they know is their groceries are too expensive. Period.

Gas is also too expensive. Where I live Regular is still over $4 a gallon. Before Biden it was closer to $2 a gallon. Again, Maybe it is unfair to blame Trump, but he ran saying he would lower gas prices. He did a little but they are still too high.

Finally, there is the war in Iran. Democrats could easily blame high gas prices on the war with Iran. The striaghts of hormuz being blocked is blamed for gas prices. Why is it blocked? Trump's war with Iran. Easy connection to make. IMO, Trump never fully explained why we started this conflict with Iran in the first place. After talking about ending forever wars, he promptly got us into a forever war. We have no exit strategy and it is clear we are not going to win - if we can even describe what winning looks like

Exit polls show these 3 things played a huge part in this election. " It's the economy, stupid" is a rule, not a slogan.

Trump spent too much time renaming Lakes and Gulfs, talking about Canada being a state and taking over Greenland. This makes him look like a nutjob. He should have been focused on food prices and gas prices. He wants us to believe he wasn't on the ballot, but he is the president and he is held accountable, again, fair or not.

 

[Creeper]

I agree

Where does one escape when there's no longer an America?

There is no place. Despite the losses last night, we still have Trump as president. AAs long as he doesn't cave in to save face there is still hope. Democrats can't pack the supreme court because Trump makes all the nominations. For 2 years at least, barring a tragic situation among the conservative SC members, we're still somewhat safe. Starting today, Republicans need to stop the in-fighting. Get focused on the issues people care about and find a credible candidate to run for president in 2028. It is essential Republicans win the presidency, and hopefully the senate back. IMO, Texas has not turned blue. I think it was just two bad candidates running in Texas and we have to stop making the mistake of running damaged goods like Paxton and Roy Moore.

I think Vance is damaged goods, as much as I like him. He is so tied to Trump that I don't think he can win anymore. Not unless Trump does some spectacular things in the next two years, and Democrats are not going to let him. I know someone you are bitter, but Ron DeSantis is the right guy. He is smart, serious, articulate and he has a great track record in Florida. He does what he says and he will not say all the dumb stuff Trump has said. Trump tried to destroy him and maybe he did, but that was selfish, and stupid. I have said this 100 times but Trump and his faction are more effective fighting other Republicans than they are fighting Democrats. The election results from yesterday prove that.

 

[dbair1967]

I am not from Texas, but my read on this, and maybe it is some wishful thinking, is that Abbott lost the Republicans base by turning moderate on immigration. Without the MAGA base voting in droves he had no chance.

On the other hand, Paxton was just damaged goods. I know MAGA loved what he was saying but it is not MAGA voters Republicans need to get. It is the independents. Republicans voters for some reason cannot fathom that there are people out there who actually do change their votes from Dem to Republicans and back depending on issues and candidate - or just who has the best campaign. You may not like it or believe it but the fact is, they exist. And they are 10 or more percent of the population which is more than enough to swing an election. You cannot dismiss them because you think they are kooky or stupid. They still vote.

Yep, some truth to both for sure.

Abbott was a fucking loser and always was. Paxton had his issues, but he had the RINO machine against him because of Thune and Cornyn.

And nationally I still havent seen any real numbers yet on voter turnout and mail-in ballot counts but would like to see comparisons between now, 2020, 2022 and 2024. I do suspect a lot of last night's results were either padded or completely swung by the latter.

 

[touchdown]

Thomas and Alito both say they are staying, hopefully their health allows them to do so. If for some reason they were to decide to retire, Trump will never get an appointee through before his term ends.

It sad beyond belief, but the left 100% buys into the assassination agenda when it comes to their opponents and ensuring their sick ideology advances. We saw them take Charlie Kirk. We saw a UHC CEO murdered in cold blood. We've seen multiple attempts on Trump and I think we'll see more before his term ends. But the left going after a couple of SCOTUS' before Trump's term ends would absolutely not shock me either.

I pray especially for Thomas's staying power !

 

[touchdown]

Matt Vespa - Townhall

Folks, these nights happen. They will continue to happen.

The 2026 midterms won't be the first or last atrocious election night for Republicans.

• The 2006 midterms were awful
• The 2008 election was miserable
• The 2012 election was bad.

This was a wave year for Democrats. Oftentimes, your opponent wins in a democracy.

Regroup. Reevaluate. And then fight on... believe it or not, the 2028 election has already begun.

We'll be back tomorrow with more updates. Thanks for sticking around with us, despite the end result. But it's not over. The fight goes on.

 

[touchdown]

Here's the Texas rundown in detail from the Tx Tribune (Liberal site):

Live Texas election results: 2026 midterm races

Texans are voting in several high-profile races, including contests for U.S. Senate, governor, several legislative seats and more.

apps.texastribune.org

 

[dbair1967]

Finally, there is the war in Iran. Democrats could easily blame high gas prices on the war with Iran. The striaghts of hormuz being blocked is blamed for gas prices. Why is it blocked? Trump's war with Iran. Easy connection to make. IMO, Trump never fully explained why we started this conflict with Iran in the first place. After talking about ending forever wars, he promptly got us into a forever war. We have no exit strategy and it is clear we are not going to win - if we can even describe what winning looks like

I'm still not going to solely blame Trump for this. He's the most anti-war President we have had in a long, long time (maybe ever) and that was his take before he got into politics as well as his entire first term. He ran on it again in 2020 and 2024.

Somebody had to have shown him something REALLY bad to get him to change his mind. Now what is fair to question is was the information shown a complete lie because they WANTED us to get into this? I wouldnt put in past the CIA, Dems, Deep State and the Globalists. They literally had nothing else to touch Trump on as they tried everything else. Getting somethign to take a massive bite out of the economy was probably the only way they could win in the midterms.

That said, Iran is an incredibly evil regime and they have made it blatantly clear their ultimate goal is the elimination of Israel. They've been working on nukes a long time and maybe they were close to getting it done and being able to deploy it. If so, Trump was right to help them (Israel) even though I'm sure he knew it was going to kill us at on election day.

 

[dbair1967]

I think Vance is damaged goods, as much as I like him. He is so tied to Trump that I don't think he can win anymore. Not unless Trump does some spectacular things in the next two years, and Democrats are not going to let him. I know someone you are bitter, but Ron DeSantis is the right guy. He is smart, serious, articulate and he has a great track record in Florida. He does what he says and he will not say all the dumb stuff Trump has said. Trump tried to destroy him and maybe he did, but that was selfish, and stupid. I have said this 100 times but Trump and his faction are more effective fighting other Republicans than they are fighting Democrats. The election results from yesterday prove that.

Vance said a couple months ago he might not even seek the Presidency because he has 4 children (all under 10 and one of them is a newborn) and his family and time with them was the most important thing. Maybe he said it because he knew the way the winds were blowing in the polls, but I kind of believe him when he says his family comes first.

Assuming Vance doesn't run, Rubio is certainly qualified and has done a GREAT job as SoS. He's rebuilt his "brand" but the fear with him might be similar to what you noted about Vance, will people see him as just another "Trump" now (even though he is not and two actually hated each other in 2016). Kalshi and other oddsmakers showed last night as the results got worse and worse that DeSantis' chance of winning the nomination were skyrocketing because he has a great track record running Florida and will not be seen as simply an extension of Trump, or at least not as close as Vance or Rubio. Will be interesting to see if there's a Desantis/Rubio ticket (or Rubio/DeSantis) ultimately.

The bolded part I completely disagree with you on. I know for a fact that DeSantis mostly brought on his OWN demise by taking really, really bad advice from a lot of the establishment GOPers. They told him to build a wall between himself and Trump and thought that was a winning strategy, when it clearly was not. The two should have sat down together well in advance of the 2020 cycle to work out how this would play out. Some people believe had this been handled properly DeSantis WOULD have been the nominee and done so with Trump's blessing and support. Instead DeSantis listened to stupid fucking people and got creamed.

 

[dbair1967]

Matt Vespa - Townhall

Folks, these nights happen. They will continue to happen.

The 2026 midterms won't be the first or last atrocious election night for Republicans.

• The 2006 midterms were awful
• The 2008 election was miserable
• The 2012 election was bad.

This was a wave year for Democrats. Oftentimes, your opponent wins in a democracy.

Regroup. Reevaluate. And then fight on... believe it or not, the 2028 election has already begun.

We'll be back tomorrow with more updates. Thanks for sticking around with us, despite the end result. But it's not over. The fight goes on.

He's not entirely wrong.

Dems probably cant help themselves with the "get Trump get ICE get this and get that" mentality and if they go through with it they will probably seal their fate in 2028 with a rousing defeat. Turnout numbers will be huge in support of Republicans, unlike last night where I suspect millions stayed home because they are stupid.

If the Dems were smart, what would probably help them win the WH and a bigger landslide majority in 2028 is if they actually WORKED with Trump and got stuff done to help the country. We all know here it'd all be a complete ruse but ultimately they'd get what they want. The WH, huge majorities in the H and S, the Supreme Court and whatever else they wanted. Then a complete transfer to full blown Communism could be ensured, and we all know thats their goal.

 

[dbair1967]

I find it more than a little suspicious that last night as results were pouring in, stock futures were tanking and it looked like it would be a huge sell off.

Instead now today the markets blew up (positive. DJ up 1500+, Nasdaq up nearly 500. All other markets in the + too.

 

[dbair1967]

Is politics slimy or what?

Obviously being from GA I know quite a bit about Jackson, as he also works in my industry (healthcare). While I voted for him for Gov, I supported Jones 100% in the primary and have little doubt he probably would have won had he been the nominee. He was the FAR better candidate and universally praised statewide and even nationally.

Read this article, this is the Jackson I was aware of. I now believe he did what he did to ultimately help a Democrat takeover of Georgia, which is what happened. We lost EVERYTHING here last night. Governor, Lt Governor, Sec of State, Attorney General and it appears we will lose the House. Dems also took over the utilities board for the first time in my adult life.

Governor Brian Kemp and SoS Brad Raffensperger also are to blame, and this goes back to the rigged 2020 and 2022 elections which they had a direct hand in. Two more massive slimeballs.

How a Never Trump “Republican” Billionaire Took Down the Georgia GOP * The Gateway Pundit * by Guest Contributor

Guest post by Garland Favorito Georgia Democrats regained power from Republicans in statewide offices last night for the first time in 24 years.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

 

[dbair1967]

Probably the only good news to come out of Texas last night.

Former Texas Rangers slugger Mark Teixeira replaces Chip Roy with big House win for Republicans | Blaze Media

Teixeira was given a near-100% chance to win.

www.theblaze.com

 

[Doomsday]

 

[Doomsday]

Preached this for years. Abbot bragging about inviting them in. They'll enjoy the freedom and lower taxes and better opportunities! Welcome to Texas! I've said for years Texas would flip. It's begun.

 

[Creeper]

He's not entirely wrong.

Dems probably cant help themselves with the "get Trump get ICE get this and get that" mentality and if they go through with it they will probably seal their fate in 2028 with a rousing defeat. Turnout numbers will be huge in support of Republicans, unlike last night where I suspect millions stayed home because they are stupid.

If the Dems were smart, what would probably help them win the WH and a bigger landslide majority in 2028 is if they actually WORKED with Trump and got stuff done to help the country. We all know here it'd all be a complete ruse but ultimately they'd get what they want. The WH, huge majorities in the H and S, the Supreme Court and whatever else they wanted. Then a complete transfer to full blown Communism could be ensured, and we all know thats their goal.

Dems are not going to work with Trump. They can't. Their base hates Trump more than anything and would rather the country flush itself down the toilet than compromise with Trump on anything. They will start investigations, and pre-occupy the country with more "gotya" politics. The bigger problem for the country is Dem voters don't really care about the future of the country and they don't care about Dem corruption. They are just people who feel warm and cozy when they hate the country and everyone who thinks differently than them. This is only going to get worse.

 

[Creeper]

This is a problem in Michigan and Minnesota and it was created by Barack Obama. I have been saying for yeara that Democrats are killing themselves by supporting all this 3rd world immigration because once there are enough of them, they aren't going to vote in traditional Democratic party candidates. The Democratic party is going to suffer the same fate as the country. They just don't know it yet. And I think they don't care. Policies, laws, constitution, none of that matters anymore. Times have changed for the worst.

 

[Dodger12]

Thomas and Alito both say they are staying, hopefully their health allows them to do so. If for some reason they were to decide to retire, Trump will never get an appointee through before his term ends.

It sad beyond belief, but the left 100% buys into the assassination agenda when it comes to their opponents and ensuring their sick ideology advances. We saw them take Charlie Kirk. We saw a UHC CEO murdered in cold blood. We've seen multiple attempts on Trump and I think we'll see more before his term ends. But the left going after a couple of SCOTUS' before Trump's term ends would absolutely not shock me either.

Staying is one thing but for how long? The Senate will not really be in play until 2033when Republicans have a chance to take back Texas and Ohio. It's bleak, if if a republican wins the presidency in 2028.

 

[dbair1967]

Dems are not going to work with Trump. They can't. Their base hates Trump more than anything and would rather the country flush itself down the toilet than compromise with Trump on anything. They will start investigations, and pre-occupy the country with more "gotya" politics. The bigger problem for the country is Dem voters don't really care about the future of the country and they don't care about Dem corruption. They are just people who feel warm and cozy when they hate the country and everyone who thinks differently than them. This is only going to get worse.

Well that's what I expect they'll do, they can't help themselves with the TDS.

But ultimately that will be good for us, because they'll get fired in two years.

 

[dbair1967]

This is a problem in Michigan and Minnesota and it was created by Barack Obama. I have been saying for yeara that Democrats are killing themselves by supporting all this 3rd world immigration because once there are enough of them, they aren't going to vote in traditional Democratic party candidates. The Democratic party is going to suffer the same fate as the country. They just don't know it yet. And I think they don't care. Policies, laws, constitution, none of that matters anymore. Times have changed for the worst.

They are so stupid with this, they don't realize some of the first people the Islamists will execute when they finally take over ARE the Democrats. Almost everything about the Demotard platform is stuff hardcore Mooselums HATE and will kill for.