Iowa shocker: GOP voters won’t show for weak frauds

Republicans underperformed in the 2022 midterms. No red wave. Not even close. Since then, special election after special election has gone badly for the GOP. Losses pile up everywhere — like what just happened in deep red Western Iowa. Uh-oh.

Donald Trump won Woodbury County in 2024 by a wide margin, 60% to 37%. But in a special election this week, Democrats carried the county by nine points — a swing of more than 30 points in a place where Democrats don’t even control the election machinery.

Men, spend at least half the time on self-government that you spend on football this fall. Hold your candidates accountable.

That should terrify every Republican. If Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot, or if the candidate isn’t a strong standard-bearer like Ron DeSantis in Florida or Kim Reynolds in Iowa, the GOP struggles to turn out voters. The Republican brand is busted unless tied to someone who transcends it.

Rep. Randy Feenstra (R), the congressman from Western Iowa, is the antithesis of a transcendent candidate. He’s nothing in Washington yet somehow thinks he’s suited to be governor. That is exactly the sort of mediocrity voters are rejecting.

Enough. We cannot accept Republicans who bide their time, hoping Trump passes from the stage, only to drag us back to the timid talking points of 2005. No more Mitt Romneys. The choice is stark: Either embrace Trump’s America First agenda without apology or get out of the way.

The stakes couldn’t be clearer

The Woodbury County loss is a four-alarm fire. If Republicans don’t wake up, Democrats will catch them flat-footed again in the 2026 midterms.

Look north. Minnesota is already succumbing to progressive chaos. The state covers for an Islamic takeover of its largest city. Catholic children were just shot at Mass by a trans terrorist. Politicians there proudly defend the worldview that produces bloodshed, blasphemy, and disorder. And still, red states remain complacent — unprepared for the next wave of evil attacks on faith, family, and freedom.

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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Republicans can’t afford that softness any longer. Too many in the GOP act like the proverbial dog returning to its vomit. That weakness must end. Candidates must raise the stakes, not bury them in cowardice and equivocation. They must be warriors ready to defend this country against every enemy, foreign and domestic.

A challenge to men

So here’s my challenge: Men, spend at least half the time on self-government that you spend on football this fall. Fortify your homes, your churches, and your communities. Hold your candidates accountable.

If you don’t, your sons may not inherit the blessing of football season — or the freedoms you’ve taken for granted.