JASON CHAFFETZ: Five timeless political lessons that got lost in 2026

While the leadership of the House and Senate are changing, the fundamentals of American politics have not. In all the finger pointing that will ensue over the coming weeks, some things should already be clear. Regardless of where the last ballots fall, the basic principles of American politics remain the same.

Voters still respond to the same things they always have. As Republicans look to 2028, they must double down on the basics of campaigning that stand the test of time.

1. Candidate quality matters. Fielding the better candidate is not optional. It may not always be definitive, but it is foundational. A candidate who cannot connect with people, articulate a positive vision of the future, or run a disciplined campaign operation will eventually be vulnerable. Celebrity, political dynasties, comfortable incumbents, or last-minute appointments do not automatically translate into votes.

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2. Results must be felt. A majority is judged by outcomes people can feel, not by legislative talking points. The Senate had two years. Voters do not grade on process. They grade on whether prices at the pump and grocery store stopped rising, whether their communities felt safe, and whether the problems they voted to fix in 2024 actually got fixed. A Senate that refuses to build on the work of the House, maximize judicial appointments, or secure the president’s signature election security promise is asking for a loss. Excuses do not win midterms. Outcomes do. A majority that is perpetually in recess and does not deliver consistent results should expect to pay dearly. That is neither new nor complicated.

3. Volume is not a strategy. Too much money is spent on strategies with too little value, often in ways that simply annoy voters. Exaggerated attack ads that no one believes, incessant text messages that interrupt dinner, and uninvited fundraising solicitations that clog up inboxes do not persuade people. They irritate them. Voters have learned to tune out the noise, and campaigns that treat volume as a strategy end up wasting money while making the people they need less likely to listen. Consultants who still measure success by how many times they can hit the same voter are not helping their candidates. They are training people to ignore them.

4. Candidate choice is a local decision. Primaries exist for a reason. Putting a finger on the scale for a candidate the voters have not fully affirmed is a recipe for disaster. Democrats learned that the hard way when they elevated Kamala Harris without a real primary contest. Republicans got a reminder this cycle in South Carolina, where Darline Graham was appointed to her late brother’s seat and then heavily backed through the primary process. She won the nomination, but voters in a deep-red state ultimately rejected the candidate who had been chosen for them. Skipping or short-circuiting the primary process does not protect the seat. It risks it.

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5. Endorsements do not win or lose races. They matter when you are nobody trying to become somebody. For federal office, most voters do not care about the long list of endorsements. They look at the candidate standing in front of them and the message that candidate is offering. National figures, party committees, and celebrity names generate headlines and fundraising, but they rarely move the final margin the way candidates and consultants claim. Campaigns waste too much time chasing them. Voters make their own decisions and do so primarily on authenticity and plans for the future.

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These are not complicated ideas. They have worked for decades. They still work. The question is whether the people running campaigns will treat them as optional again, or whether they will finally stop looking for shortcuts that keep failing.