You can lose by "being weak," or you can be a democracy-destroying maniac, break the rules and still lose (Trump).
OR: you can win with a positive message, broadening your coalition and appealing to the mainstream. See generally, George W. Bush and his two terms (too bad about that Iraq War and financial crisis though, it's what sunk McCain).
OR: you can acknowledge that in a democracy, you don't always win and don't always get your way, but that things usually turn out fine.
Fast-forwarding a bit:
Do you think Joe-freaking-Biden (the milquetoast cringe-factory and accused sexual assaulter) would have won against a sane and put-together Republican?
X Doubt