Tuesday’s elections were, by most measures, a stinging failure for Republicans.
Democrats won the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. A democratic socialist was elected mayor of New York City. California voters overwhelmingly signed off on new House maps intended to boost Democratic representation.
While many Republicans have sought to shrug off the 2025 elections as inconsequential for the 2026 midterm elections, Albert Eisenberg, principal at the Republican firm Red Bridge, said that the results from Tuesday need to be taken seriously by the GOP if the party wants any chance of maintaining its majorities in Congress next year.
Campaigns & Elections spoke with Eisenberg this week about what lessons Republicans can take from Tuesday’s elections. The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
The 2025 off-year election results serve as a sharp wake-up call for the GOP—and not merely because the map turned unfavorable. What matters is that these contests revealed a structural gap in Republican campaign strategy: too much reliance on old turnout formulas and insufficient engagement with mobile, swing and younger voters who increasingly see the cost of living—not culture wars—as their primary concern. As the article points out, Republicans must do better at persuasion, not just mobilization. They must craft messages rooted in affordability and economic competence, while also building community outreach programs that speak the language of college-educated women, Latinos and independents. Simply recycling 2024 tactics won’t cut it. Going into 2026, the conservative advantage lies not in slogans but in discipline: integrating digital content, boots-on-the-ground infrastructure and authentic relationship-building across demographics. The lessons here are not punitive—they’re strategic. The G.O.P. should take them seriously. ~Political Media Inc
