If you’ve been watching the news lately, you’d think the Republican Party had been wiped off the map.
Contrary to the panic from so-called “expert” politicos, the GOP still controls the presidency and both chambers of Congress — and, yes, still exists. One off-year judicial race in one state doesn’t change that.
That’s not to say Republicans weren’t hoping for a win in Wisconsin last month. A victory would’ve secured a conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and been viewed as a stamp of approval for the Trump administration, just four months in.
But though the GOP came up short in a hard-fought campaign, the broader picture is far from bleak. Results from Wisconsin, paired with the GOP’s success in both special congressional elections in Florida, should give Republicans plenty to feel good about.
The Sunshine State delivered not one, but two victories for the GOP. Republican candidates in Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts coasted to double-digit wins, each by nearly 14 points over their Democrat opponents.
Sure, these margins weren’t quite the 30-point blowouts we saw in the 2024 general election. But they were still decisive, and far better than the narrative suggested.
In Florida’s 6th District, the race was supposed to be close. A poll released just a week before Election Day had Democrat Josh Weil leading Republican Randy Fine by three points. Instead, Fine won by 14. That’s a 17-point swing from the final polling average, and it wasn’t a fluke.
Weil outraised Fine by $9 million. And still, voters handed Republicans a decisive win.
Turnout wasn’t even close to 2024 levels. Back then, over 400,000 voters showed up. This time? Just 194,000.
That means Fine’s win came not from overwhelming party-line momentum, but from a committed, motivated base willing to show up when it counts.
Florida’s 1st District tells a similar story. Yes, the margin was tighter than expected, but context matters. Democrat Gay Valimont wasn’t a no-name challenger. She ran in 2024, already had name ID, and hailed from Escambia County, home to Pensacola, one of the largest population centers in the district. She also outraised her Republican opponent by $4 million — and still lost.
To be fair, Wisconsin was a loss. The GOP-endorsed candidate in the race, Brad Schimel (yes, these are technically nonpartisan contests), lost by over 10 points, more than 200,000 votes. That’s just a fact.
But here’s the context you won’t hear in the mainstream media: Republicans were trying to flip the seat, not hold it.
It was already controlled by the left. Although conservatives came up short, liberals didn’t gain ground. They simply held their majority.
You wouldn’t know that from the headlines. Much of the media framed this as a major conservative defeat rather than what it was: an unsuccessful offensive in otherwise hostile territory.
At the same time, Wisconsinites overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment enshrining voter ID, something you’d expect the media to notice, given how often that issue is litigated in the press. The measure passed by over 25 points and failed only in Dane and Milwaukee Counties, home to Madison and Milwaukee, respectively.
That’s a big win for election integrity, and one that the state’s left-leaning court won’t be able to reverse with a judicial order.
It still doesn’t change the fact that the GOP came up short. And that loss will almost certainly cause some headaches going forward. The state Supreme Court is expected to toss out Wisconsin’s current congressional maps, likely costing Republicans seats in an already razor-thin House majority.
But for a party supposedly on the “brink of extinction,” the opposition sure isn’t doing much better. The Democrat party’s approval rating remains in the basement. According to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, just 37% of voters approve of the party. That’s their lowest mark since March 2018. Hardly a blue wave in waiting.
So no, Wisconsin didn’t go the GOP’s way. But it was an election in April.
There will be others. Gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia are on the horizon, and both blue states will offer a clearer read on where things stand a year into the Trump administration.
Perspective matters. The road to 2026 is long, and setbacks are part of every journey.
As Ronald Reagan once said, “There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers.”
The simple answer here: The GOP should stay the course, do the work the people elected them to do, and not panic over one state Supreme Court seat.
We didn’t get into this fight for one court seat; we’re in it for the long haul. And we’re still very much in it.
Jacob Lane is a Republican Strategist. He is a Newsmax Insider whose writings have also appeared in the Daily Caller, the Chicago Tribune, and the Wall Street Journal.
Pixabay, Pixabay License.
Jesus Christ is King
