{"id":2290618,"date":"2024-07-08T14:59:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T18:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-are-paying-the-price-for-ignoring-off-year-elections\/"},"modified":"2024-07-08T15:01:19","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T19:01:19","slug":"republicans-are-paying-the-price-for-ignoring-off-year-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-are-paying-the-price-for-ignoring-off-year-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans Are Paying The Price For Ignoring Off-Year Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublicans-are-paying-the-price-for-ignoring-off-year-elections%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2290618&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the \u2064consequences of ignoring off-year elections, particularly with Republicans\u2064 facing challenges in various state\u2063 Supreme Court races. \u2064It highlights how Democrats\u2064 strategically focused \u2062on\u2062 flipping control of key institutions, like in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, through\u2064 fundraising and get-out-the-vote efforts. The article emphasizes the need for\u200b Republicans to \u200creevaluate their campaign\u2063 strategies and \u200dengage more\u200d effectively in off-year elections to prevent further losses to Democrats.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2024\/07\/localimages\/File-3AVote_Here_-_Election_Polling_Place_-252850565230221-2529.jpg>  Tony Webster \/ Wikimedia Commons <\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/republicans-are-paying-the-price-for-ignoring-off-year-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Republicans Are Paying The Price For Ignoring Off-Year Elections&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/republicans-are-paying-the-price-for-ignoring-off-year-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Republicans Are Paying The Price For Ignoring Off-Year Elections&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/republicans-are-paying-the-price-for-ignoring-off-year-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/republicans-are-paying-the-price-for-ignoring-off-year-elections\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Republicans Are Paying The Price For Ignoring Off-Year Elections&#038;body=Until Republicans engage in self-reflection and overhaul the way they approach campaigning, they will continue to lose.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/republicans-are-paying-the-price-for-ignoring-off-year-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Ignoring off-year elections produces its consequences \u2014 and Republicans are finding that lesson out the hard way.<\/p>\n<p>On the same day Joe Biden made a campaign appearance in Madison, Wisconsin, the Badger State\u2019s leftist-controlled Supreme Court arbitrarily <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/leftists-get-what-they-paid-for-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-flip-flop-allowing-ballot-drop-boxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">authorized<\/a> the use of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-zuckerberg-bans-president-trump-from-using-facebook-indefinitely\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Zuckerberg Bans President Trump from Using Facebook \u201cIndefinitely\u201d\">ballot <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-caught-them-lin-wood-outed-mysterious-georgia-operative-gabe-sterling-now-video-shows-him-admitting-he-helped-set-up-drop-boxes-and-promoted-far-left-activists-as-absentee-ballot-counters\/\" title=\"WE CAUGHT THEM: Lin Wood Outed Mysterious Georgia Operative Gabe Sterling - Now Video Shows Him Admitting He Helped Set Up Drop Boxes and Promoted Far Left Activists as Absentee Ballot Counters\">drop boxes<\/a><\/a> in November\u2019s election. The Friday decision reverses a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/08\/wisconsin-supreme-court-drops-hammer-on-2020-election-shenanigans-ballot-drop-boxes-are-illegal-under-wisconsin-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2022 ruling<\/a> by the court\u2019s then-conservative majority that determined the deployment of drop boxes in the 2020 election violated Wisconsin law and prohibited them from further use.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-efb82b8d8c4b97b51d96953c299d7fd1 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-efb82b8d8c4b97b51d96953c299d7fd1\"><\/div>\n<p>The leftist majority\u2019s ruling \u2014 while <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/leftists-get-what-they-paid-for-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-flip-flop-allowing-ballot-drop-boxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contradictory<\/a> to state law \u2014 is a big win for Democrats, who used the presumably \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/10\/12\/the-2020-election-wasnt-stolen-it-was-bought-by-mark-zuckerberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zuckbucks<\/a>\u201c-funded boxes to push Biden across the finish line during the 2020 contest. While Wisconsin voters have since <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/02\/voters-prohibit-zuckbucks-style-private-funding-and-staff-from-wisconsin-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prohibited<\/a> the use of \u201cZuckbucks\u201d in elections, the high court\u2019s reauthorization of drop boxes will undoubtedly be used by Democrat <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Ballot_harvesting_laws_by_state#Wisconsin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ballot traffickers<\/a> during the November elections.<\/p>\n<p>But it didn\u2019t have to be this way.<\/p>\n<p>While Republicans and conservative influencers were <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/31\/why-are-conservatives-talking-about-2024-instead-of-the-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-next-week\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">distracted<\/a> in spring 2023 with the 2024 GOP presidential primary \u2014 months before candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis jumped in the race \u2014 Democrats made flipping control of Wisconsin\u2019s highest court a top priority. <\/p>\n<p>As my colleague Matt Kittle recently <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/leftists-get-what-they-paid-for-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-flip-flop-allowing-ballot-drop-boxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, Democrat Janet Protasiewicz raised $14 million ahead of the April 2023 election, most of which came from the Wisconsin Democrat Party and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/11\/heres-every-major-upcoming-election-republicans-should-already-be-preparing-for\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">out-of-state leftist mega-donors<\/a>. Republican Dan Kelly raised a mere $2.6 million. This funding discrepancy doesn\u2019t even take into account the major <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/11\/heres-every-major-upcoming-election-republicans-should-already-be-preparing-for\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">get-out-the-vote operations<\/a> leftist groups conducted on Democrat-friendly college campuses throughout the state.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0d2dde6e5ee8e50831fcef347c5e5a44 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0d2dde6e5ee8e50831fcef347c5e5a44\"><\/div>\n<p>Any hopes that losing control of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trump-ends-negotiations-with-nancy-pelosi-on-coronavirus-relief\/\" title=\"Donald Trump Ends Negotiations with Nancy Pelosi on Coronavirus Relief\">supreme court<\/a> in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stacey-abrams-announces-campaign-for-georgia-governor\/\" title=\"Stacey Abrams Announces Campaign For Georgia Governor\">pivotal battleground state<\/a> would prompt the GOP to take off-year elections more seriously didn\u2019t last long. <\/p>\n<p>A few months later, Democrats won a Pennsylvania Supreme Court race that allowed their party to maintain its <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Pennsylvania_Supreme_Court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">5-2 majority<\/a>. Democrats and out-of-state leftist organizations <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotlightpa.org\/news\/2023\/11\/pennsylvania-election-results-abortion-supreme-court-spending\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">heavily outspent<\/a> Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>Much like Wisconsin, control of Pennsylvania\u2019s Supreme Court plays a pivotal role in election administration. During the 2020 contest, for example, then-Democrat Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar <a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/tipsheet\/katiepavlich\/2020\/12\/07\/mark-levin-details-how-democrats-changed-the-rules-on-fraud-n2581151\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unilaterally waived<\/a> the commonwealth\u2019s signature verification process for mail-in ballots. Despite not receiving approval from the state legislature, Boockvar\u2019s guidance was upheld by the Supreme Court\u2019s Democrat majority. <\/p>\n<p>These judicial elections are but a microcosm of the many off-year elections Republicans have <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/12\/ignore-the-polls-republicans-have-a-major-voter-turnout-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lost<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5bf23a9e2d335ec06613e350f5f5a6d8 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5bf23a9e2d335ec06613e350f5f5a6d8\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Republicans Lack a Political Movement<\/h2>\n<p>Dumping a few million dollars into a race while saying, \u201cWe\u2019re not Democrats\u201d is not a sufficient campaign strategy, as recent elections have shown. Winning elections requires unifying around a focused vision backed by a well-funded and committed political force dedicated to that message.<\/p>\n<p>It also demands competing against <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/democrat-election-machine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Democrats\u2019 election machine<\/a>. That means Republicans must work with on-the-ground conservative groups to target low-propensity GOP voters and chase their ballots ahead of Election Day. <\/p>\n<p>Until Republicans engage in self-reflection and overhaul the way they approach campaigning, they will continue to lose.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d3544010ee52a896fc748a5faf1061ae fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d3544010ee52a896fc748a5faf1061ae\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\" rel=\"noopener\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2024-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2024 election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/acela-republicans\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Acela Republicans<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ballot-drop-boxes-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">ballot drop boxes<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/democrat-election-machine\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Democrat election machine<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/gotv\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">GOTV<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/wisconsin\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Wisconsin<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/wisconsin-supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Wisconsin Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republicans are learning the hard way that ignoring off-year elections can have consequences. In Wisconsin, the leftist-controlled Supreme Court recently authorized the use of ballot drop boxes for the upcoming election, despite a previous ruling against them. Democrats have been successful in flipping control of key state courts by prioritizing these elections and outspending Republicans. To win elections, Republicans need to unify around a clear vision, engage with conservative groups, and overhaul their campaign strategies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2290619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/1280px-Vote_Here_-_Election_Polling_Place_50565230221-e1719330692507.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[11979,34240,34241,5894,3756],"class_list":["post-2290618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ignoring","tag-off-year-elections","tag-paying-the-price","tag-politics","tag-republicans"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/1280px-Vote_Here_-_Election_Polling_Place_50565230221-e1719330692507.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2290618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2290619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2290618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2290618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2290618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}