Tuesday’s midterm elections brought Democrats a sweeping victory, giving them control of both chambers of Congress and flipping several deeply Republican seats. It was a major setback for Donald Trump and the GOP.
At the same time, voters approved several conservative ballot measures, including voter ID requirements, a rule requiring citizenship to vote, and tax cuts. Washington state voters also approved Initiative 638, which would bar biological males from competing in girls’ sports.
Glenn Beck asked Nick Freitas how those results could coexist. Freitas argued that they weren’t really at odds.
In states including Ohio, North Carolina, Kansas, and Iowa, he said, some voters chose Democratic candidates but then supported conservative measures on the ballot. They backed voter ID, citizenship requirements for voting, and lower taxes.
Freitas said those voters may have been trying to send Republicans a message: they supported Republican principles, but were frustrated with party leaders who hadn’t delivered on them.
He sees that as a reason not to conclude that Republican ideas themselves were rejected. In his view, the party’s weak leadership and failure to keep promises played a bigger role.
Some voters, Freitas added, seemed to feel that they would rather risk a worse outcome than support another Republican who had let them down.
With Democrats set to control Congress, Beck raised concerns about what that could mean for Trump’s options, particularly if lawmakers move to cut funding for the war in Iran. Their discussion also touched on Elon Musk and growing instability in Europe.
