Trump Really Was on the Ballot - WSJ Editorial
President Trump on Wednesday blamed Tuesday’s Republican election defeats on the government shutdown and the fact that he wasn’t on the ballot. If he really believes this, the GOP is heading for bigger problems in 2026.
Mr. Trump was on the ballot—not literally, but nonetheless as the main motivating force behind a dominating Democratic turnout. Winning Democratic candidates for Governor in New Jersey and Virginia linked their opponents to Mr. Trump, driving Democratic voters to the polls and erasing the GOP gains in 2024 among Hispanics, black men and independents.
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Republicans can’t blame incumbent GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose approval rating in exit polls is 53%. A 58% majority say the state’s economy is excellent or good, which it is. But voters give Mr. Trump a dismal rating, with 39% approval. Nearly two-thirds don’t like the way the country is going, with 36% saying they’re angry and 28% dissatisfied. Only 12% think their families are getting ahead financially. This is a huge undertow for the GOP.
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Outcomes elsewhere also suggest a rising backlash against the President. Democrats haven’t won an election in years for Georgia’s statewide utility commission. They won two Tuesday, ousting both Republican incumbents 63% to 37%. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is on the ballot in 2026, credited “massive grassroots energy.” In Mississippi, Democrats picked up a couple of state Senate seats, breaking a GOP supermajority. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s referendum on gerrymandering the state’s House map, which could net Democrats five seats next year, is ahead by 2 to 1.
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The electorate gave Mr. Trump another term because he pledged to lower prices and raise real incomes. But his economic record is mixed at best. Inflation is stuck at 3%. Yet Mr. Trump causes damage with his mercurial tariffs, and then he demands the Federal Reserve slash interest rates to compensate for it. Meantime, he pursues polarizing distractions from his mandate, such as ordering the National Guard into cities that don’t want it and lobbying for indictments of his political opponents. The 2025 election was a warning from the voters. If Republicans don’t adapt, the GOP is sure to lose its House majority and the Senate could be in play too.
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