Do Republicans Want to Win?

Thoughts on ‘the culture of losing.’

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Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather outside of Trump Tower in New York City on June 13, 2023. (Photo by Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty Images)

If Republican voters were guaranteed to win the presidency in 2024 by nominating Nikki Haley, would they do it?

They would not, I suspect. And that’s okay.

There’s more to politics than winning. There are many circumstances in which it would be reasonable to choose a less electable candidate with better policies over a more electable candidate with worse ones. I wouldn’t begrudge any Republican voter for preferring a pro-life nominee, for example, even if one could prove that a pro-choice alternative would be more likely to capture the presidency.

Given that I’m committed to supporting Joe Biden over Donald Trump next year, I’m not the guy to throw stones at the right for not prioritizing GOP victory over all things.

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  1. Autonomian

    The culture of losing is just the toe in the water of right wing populism to see if they can co-opt a political party that used to stand for minimum government . Hopefully they will continue losing, the problem is only the Democrats benefit.

    Does anyone else think the Flight 93 reference is repellant? It will always be Too Soon.

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  2. Luigi

    "Since 1992, the party’s nominee has earned more votes than his Democratic opponent just once..." But more relevant is the number of actual victories in the Electoral College - which is three, by my count. Still not great, but better than one. And to speak of the popular vote as a reflection of GOP candidates' popularity is a bit misleading, since the campaigns are designed to win 270 electoral votes, not the majority of the popularity vote. This reminds me of progressives who complain about how "unfair" it is for the loser of the popular vote to win the race, ignoring the fact that that's not the race that anyone is running.

    That said, I agree with the larger point that the GOP appears to love losing (or at least, to define "winning" in such an absurd way that it's pretty hard to tell the difference).

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  3. Sean O

    A candidate who supports a 12-week abortion ban is better than a candidate who wants abortion on-demand until birth.

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  4. Kevin M

    When the polls show Biden with 15 point lead over Trump, maybe some sanity will creep in.

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      Mudskipper

      My fear is that it is more likely to be the other way around.

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  5. Doug B

    No. In the Age of Trump, Republicans would rather lose to Democrats than beat Democrats. They much prefer whining to governing. We'll know Republicans want to actually win elections when/if they ditch the Trump ball and chain.

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      Kmregan7

      And moderate. Seriously. I have talked with a lot of liberal (note: NOT progressives. They often overlap but are not necessarily the same) and while I know that it's anecdotal, many of them would be willing to vote for Republicans if they weren't soo very right-wing and especially religious (in the "we want to institute our religious dogma into law")....I think I said in many comments threads that I'd be seriously okay with a president that was more of a "RINO": do I LIKE abortion bans? No. Could I live with a 16 week and exceptions after federal law? Yes. That's just one example and it seems to be common among many liberals and many conservatives (at least, according to conversations I've had with the conservatives I have in my life) Again....this is ALL anecdotal and it's also very simplified. I'm hopeful it would work both ways: people would vote for a Democrat for different reasons, if they moderate certain positions (say, the climate change issue).

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  6. Runyan.Jason

    Sad but true. I don't believe Trump can beat Biden, but I believe Biden can lose. I will NEVER vote for Trump, but my family, who doesn't follow politics nearly as much as me, as much as they can't stand Trump, they can't stand $4 / gallon gas and high grocery prices even more.

    High gas = high food / goods prices
    High food / goods prices = higher wages
    Higher wages = permanent cost of living increases = loss of businesses = higher unemployment (eventually) = depression

    That will lose an election for anybody.

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    Billy.Faires

    I had a dream where Nick used this column to exact his revenge on all the people who complain about how long his pieces are, and his whole column is the headline followed by "No."

    And that's the column.

    (Don't worry, Nick! I'm definitely in the Pro-Longwinded camp!)

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  8. Kentucky Girl

    It’s sick, pure and simple.

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    Xsearnold

    I'm guessing the man in the picture holding the "Trump or Death" flag must have missed seeing Men in Black?

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  10. DRJ

    So, metaphorically, Trump fans think they are at the Alamo ?

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