MEHEK COOKE: Republicans failed the affordability test. This is how to win voters back
Republicans lost Tuesday because we forgot the oldest lesson in politics: It is the economy, stupid. Americans did not suddenly embrace socialism or bigger government. Instead, they graded the GOP on a pocketbook scorecard of groceries, gasoline, housing and health care, then punished Republicans for failing to deliver financial relief they could feel.
Democrats captured both chambers of Congress, flipped governor’s offices and won statewide races across the country, including in Ohio, which President Donald Trump carried by double digits two years ago. Republicans must recognize that this election was a performance review and not simply the product of media bias, poor turnout or an ideological transformation of the country. The warning was clear before a single vote was counted. A Fox News poll found that 60% of voters considered the cost of living their greatest economic concern, 74% rated the economy negatively and only 18% said their families were better off than two years earlier.
Election Day was not a repudiation of every Republican principle. Voters still trusted the GOP more on crime, border security and immigration, but those advantages did not close the affordability gap.
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Republicans won the White House and both chambers in 2024 by promising economic relief, and voters judged the delivery of that promise through their bank accounts. Abandoning conservative principles would deliver more victories to Democrats and dismissing the losses as nothing more than anti-Trump anger would ignore the financial plea voters made. President Trump delivered tax relief, but Republicans failed to make broader affordability gains arrive quickly enough for families to feel them.
Democrats respond to government failure by demanding more government. They point to unaffordable housing and medical bills, invoke affordability and then call for larger budgets, new programs and expanded federal authority. Republicans cannot respond with abstract defenses of limited government while existing institutions remain expensive and unreliable.
The next Republican revolution must be a competence revolution focused on lowering the cost of living and putting American interests first. That requires government to perform its essential duties, enforce the law and remove barriers preventing families and businesses from succeeding. While Democrats measure government by how much it spends, Republicans must measure it by what families save.
The clearest opportunity to close the delivery gap is health care. A post-election KFF analysis of the national Voter Poll found that voters trusted Democrats over Republicans by 19 points on the issue. More than half said Trump administration policies had made their own health care costs worse, while only 10% said those costs had improved. Health care is a major pocketbook issue and voters judged Republicans by how much they are paying for their medical bills. More promises won’t change that sentiment, but a plan that enforces price transparency, exposes hidden middleman markups, increases competition and requires timely explanations of coverage denials. That is competent government because it gives patients information and choices without creating a larger federal health care system.
Democratic control of both chambers of Congress still leaves President Trump with the power of the veto pen even as he pledges to work with Democrats. This gives him significant negotiating leverage because Democrats need his signature to enact legislation unless they secure two-thirds support in both chambers. President Trump’s power to say no allows him to reject legislation that makes life more expensive while demanding affordability provisions that provide measurable relief for families. Democrats are now on notice. They must show voters whether they really stand for affordability or just a larger spending agenda.
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Congressional Republicans face the same affordability mandate. Every spending bill, regulatory proposal and policy should be measured by whether it lowers health care costs, removes barriers to building housing, reduces government waste and allows families to keep more of what they earn. The Trump administration and Republican governors should publish scorecards that measure permit processing times, taxpayer dollars protected from fraud and whether government programs deliver what they promised. Before spending more money on a failing program, Republicans should also require an audit explaining what went wrong, where the existing money went and what taxpayers would receive from any additional spending. The test is not whether a proposal is red or blue, but whether it leaves more green in Americans’ wallets.
Democrats failed to offer a coherent governing strategy beyond blaming President Trump, and they are already mistaking Tuesday’s victory for an endorsement of socialism, permission to expand government and a blank check to spend two years investigating the president. That mistake gives Republicans a clear opportunity to prove that conservative principles can make life more affordable. Tuesday was a warning that principles without competent delivery will not earn another majority.