A key takeaway for Republicans disappointed with the election results is that candidate quality matters.  That was proven in 2010 and 2012, when Republicans lost many winnable Senate seats by nominating weak candidates.

Unfortunately, the lesson from a decade ago was not learned.  The GOP likely would have won Pennsylvania had they nominated David McCormick instead of Mehmet Oz and easily won Arizona, Georgia, and perhaps New Hampshire had they put forward their popular Republican governors or myriad other potential candidates. 

Former President Trump should take these results as a verdict against him and quietly retire.  But I doubt he will.  So Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who cruised to re-election by 20 points despite the media doing their best to take him down, should run against Trump.

While Republicans are rightly disappointed with the results, there are some reasons to be optimistic.  

On November 8, Democrats controlled two of the three branches of government — the Executive and Legislative.  Now the picture is brighter because come January 3, Republicans will likely lead at least half of Congress (the House) and possibly all of it if Paul Laxalt hangs on in Nevada and Herschel Walker wins the Georgia run-off.  (In addition, as to the third branch of government, the Judiciary, six of the nine justices on the Supreme Court were appointed by Republican presidents.)  As such, despite the disappointing results, Republicans are better off today than before the election.

There is more good news.  Republicans continue to have more power in statehouses than Democrats do.  

If Republicans can put forward a candidate in 2024 like DeSantis, a proven winner who has helped turn Florida red, or someone else who can win critical purple states, the future is even brighter for the party (and, more importantly, the country).  

Josh Kantrow is a technology litigator practicing in Chicago.

Image: hansgklein via Pixabay, Pixabay License.