Plenty of Republicans are feeling deflated this morning — and who can blame them? Tuesday night’s results were tough to swallow. But wallowing gets us nowhere. It’s time to look forward, not back.
Vice President J.D. Vance certainly sees it that way. He’s wasting no time rallying the troops, taking to his official X account to lay out, in blunt and unapologetic terms, what national Republicans need to do next:
I think it’s idiotic to overreact to a couple of elections in blue states, but a few thoughts:
1) Scot Pressler, TPUSA, and a bunch of others have been working hard to register voters. I said it in 2022, and I’ve said it repeatedly since: our coalition is “lower propensity” and that means we have to do better at turning out voters than we have in the past.
2) We need to focus on the home front. The president has done a lot that has already paid off in lower interest rates and lower inflation, but we inherited a disaster from Joe Biden and Rome wasn’t built in a day. We’re going to keep on working to make a decent life affordable in this country, and that’s the metric by which we’ll ultimately be judged in 2026 and beyond.
3) The infighting is stupid. I care about my fellow citizens–particularly young Americans–being able to afford a decent life, I care about immigration and our sovereignty, and I care about establishing peace overseas so our resources can be focused at home. If you care about those things too, let’s work together.
I think it's idiotic to overreact to a couple of elections in blue states, but a few thoughts:
1) Scot Pressler, TPUSA, and a bunch of others have been working hard to register voters. I said it in 2022, and I've said it repeatedly since: our coalition is "lower propensity" and…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) November 5, 2025
He’s absolutely right about one thing — there’s no need to overreact. These were blue wins in deep-blue states. Disappointing? Sure. Shocking? Not in the slightest. The real takeaway isn’t panic, it’s perspective. So, let’s break down his three key points — one by one.
He’s also dead-on about lower-propensity voters. Democrats have always been more unified — it’s baked into their collectivist DNA. They move as one, they vote as one, and they’ve mastered the art of turning out their base. Republicans, on the other hand, tend to act more like independent operators — which is admirable philosophically, but a real problem come Election Day.
The GOP has to fix this. People like Scott Pressler are doing phenomenal work, but this has to become a neighborhood-level effort. Every conservative needs to take personal responsibility for turnout — remind your Republican friends, family, and coworkers to get to the polls.
Keep working — absolutely — but let’s not lose sight of the clock. We’ve got one guaranteed year with a Republican majority in both chambers of Congress, and history tells us the midterms aren’t usually kind to the party in power. That means every day counts.
Some parts of President Trump’s domestic agenda, like rebuilding America’s energy dominance, will take years to bear fruit. But voters — especially swing voters and those low-propensity Republicans who need a reason to show up — respond to results they can see.
We need big, visible wins. Tangible victories that cut through the media noise and remind Americans why they voted for this agenda in the first place. No more slow-playing it — we need to deliver bold, headline-grabbing results right now.
Infighting is always stupid — but let’s be honest, it’s also inevitable. Every party deals with it, and the Democrats are no exception. But Vice President Vance is right to refocus the conversation on what actually matters: results.
On that front, the Trump administration already has real victories to tout — the historic crackdown on illegal immigration, the restoration of border security, and a string of major foreign policy successes that have strengthened America’s standing abroad. Those are wins we can take into the midterms. But let’s be clear: they won’t be enough on their own.
Tuesday’s off-year elections weren’t great. That’s fine — learn the lessons, make the adjustments, and move on. Because starting right now, the focus has to be on the 2026 midterms — keeping the House, defending the Senate, and ensuring President Trump has the congressional muscle he needs to keep America moving forward. The time for navel-gazing is over. It’s time to fight.
