Image Credit: Canva
Submitted by Danielle Goodrich –
A good coach doesn’t spend most of his time hyping the crowd or trash-talking the other team. He studies film, identifies weaknesses, and drills his players until those weaknesses are fixed. Some attention is paid to the opponent—but the overwhelming focus is on strengthening his own team.
Politics should work the same way. It doesn’t.
For years, the Republican Party has functioned less like a coaching staff and more like a pep squad—cheering whatever the party does, demanding loyalty over results, and treating accountability as betrayal. Campaign promises go undelivered. Party principles are ignored. Voters are told to clap anyway.
And now the scoreboard is lighting up red—in the worst way.
A Political Earthquake in Texas
Last week’s Texas Senate District 9 special election should terrify Republican leadership.
SD-9 was a rock-solid red district for decades. Instead, it flipped by roughly 30 points, handing Democrats a stunning victory. Conservatives are rightly calling it a political earthquake.
Even more alarming: Tarrant County, the largest Republican county in the nation. A district carried by Donald Trump by 17 points in 2024 elected a Democrat. The seat hadn’t gone blue in half a century.
Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blamed low turnout.
“Our voters cannot take anything for granted.”
That explanation is incomplete—and dangerously comforting.
Low turnout isn’t the disease. It’s the symptom.
The Canary in the Coal Mine
This isn’t an isolated incident.
Virginia flipped Democrat because Republican voters stayed home. Republicans have lost multiple special elections over the past year—not because Democrats surged, but because GOP voters disengaged.
These are canaries in the coal mine. And the party keeps walking deeper underground, whistling past the warning signs.
If this pattern holds, the 2026 midterms won’t be a disappointment—they’ll be a disaster.
So the real question isn’t why Democrats are winning.
It’s why Republicans aren’t voting.
Why Republican Voters Are Staying Home
Republican voters appear to be apathetic. But even more than that, they’re exhausted.
They were promised fiscal restraint and got record debt.
They were promised smaller government and got bureaucratic expansion.
They were promised accountability and got excuses.
They were promised America First and got business as usual.
Election after election, voters are told, “This one is too important to sit out.”
Then, once elected, leaders govern as if the base has nowhere else to go.
That’s not how you build loyalty. That’s how you burn it.
Cheerleading Isn’t Leadership
Too much of the GOP ecosystem—consultants, donors, media allies—exists to protect incumbents, not principles. Criticism is labeled “disloyal.” Primary challenges are called “divisive.” Voters are shamed instead of listened to.
In sports, a coach who ignores weaknesses gets fired.
In Republican politics, that coach gets promoted.
How Republicans Fix This—Before the Midterms
As a party chair, I am begging for the party to see this issue, if Republicans want to stop the constant political seesaw—where voters flip control every cycle out of frustration—we need to change how we operate now, not after another loss.
1. Admit Failure Honestly
Voters can forgive setbacks. They won’t forgive gaslighting. Acknowledge broken promises—on spending, debt, border security, and civil liberties.
2. Deliver Tangible Wins
Stop running on abstract values while governing with vague excuses. Pass legislation that voters can feel: spending restraint, regulatory rollbacks, parental rights protections.
3. Reward Courage, Not Compliance
Promote leaders who fight—and deliver—not those who keep their heads down and their donors happy.
4. Treat the Base Like Stakeholders, Not ATMs
Engagement isn’t just fundraising emails and Election Day panic. It’s transparency, follow-through, and respect.
The Choice Ahead
Republicans can keep blaming turnout.
They can keep blaming voters.
They can keep cheering from the sidelines.
Or they can start coaching again.
Because if the party doesn’t fix its own weaknesses, voters will continue to bench themselves—and Democrats will keep running up the score.
The Texas result wasn’t a fluke. It was a warning.
Ignore it, and the midterms will deliver the final whistle.
2 Responses
AMEN!!
The GOP needs to interact more with voters and not just rely on “Meet and Greets” and dinners.