It’s me. Hi. I’m the Republican Party’s new leader. It’s me.

Counterarguments against DeSantis’s inevitability in 2024:

—Despite the crushing double-digit margin of victory here, DeSantis only ran about 2% ahead of Marco Rubio (a proxy for a generic Republican). Not long ago, Florida used to be a purple state, the swingiest of swing states. No longer. Florida is now solid red. DeSantis will, naturally, try to spin his victory as a triumph for conservatism on neutral ground, but that’s stretching the truth a bit.

—DeSantis is so far untested in a national election. Florida is a unique state, with large populations of wealthy retirees, as well as a unique Latino population (Cuban) that is much more conservative than other Hispanic groups. Thus, DeSantis’s bucking the national trend of disappointment for the GOP may be the result of local factors not really attributable to him.

—Trump still has a special knack that binds him to his base, and a unique ability to deflect away damaging stories that would be career-ending for other politicians (e.g. the Access Hollywood tape, the Jan. 6 riot, the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago). DeSantis hasn’t faced down the same storms, or faced quite this level of sustained scrutiny.

—DeSantis is no doubt a less charismatic politician than Trump, and shuns the press, a habit which his conservative media-hating fans don’t mind (and may even enjoy), but DeSantis’s tendency to stick to more favorable press environments may hurt him in a national campaign.

All that said: Victory is the best argument. Bottom-line, Republicans want to win in 2024. Trump’s handpicked candidates flopped in 2022, while DeSantis crushed his race walking away.

DeSantis has momentum. There is no better time to seize the GOP’s Iron Throne.

Will he?

Charlie Crist's campaign was such a joke.

Didn’t follow him, wouldn’t know.

I do think Ron DeSantis is a joke to be honest — going to war with Disney, an established brand and one of the state’s largest employers, punching down at teachers and trans kids. But what do I know. The Republican base sure seems to eat up this culture war crap. And, well, it’s Florida.

New York sure became redder though
That could be an issue for the Democrats since it seems to have flown under the radar

imgflip.com/i/7062cq

Link for the meme. It's not really a cope, more of a PSA to some people. A red wave that would sweep was always unrealistic in my opinion

It’s not like Democrats crushed this election, at all, but re-cementing the status quo (minus, perhaps, losing the U.S. House, which almost always happens in the midterms) is a sigh of relief for most Democrats.

One storyline: It seems the polls basically got this election right, perhaps pollsters have finally fixed the errors that grievously underestimated Republican support in the ‘16-‘20 era

I never saw this as a red wave or blue wave this midterm
But if Republicans were to lose everything, and if America seemed to keep going down after that despite the fact, then there isn't the benefit of the Republicans blocking laws in that case.
In other words, Republicans losing can be a benefit or a curse depending on how America continues after this for Biden

*Slight clarification: Polls called the ‘18 midterms basically correctly — that’s often overlooked, and should be noted — but then pollsters again way undershot Republican support in ‘20.

The ‘22 midterms could be more evidence in support of the mysterious “Trump effect,” where Trump simply being on the ballot seems to bring out GOP voters that are hard to identify with traditional polling methods.

It’s interesting to speculate how a better Republican performance might have affected the ‘24 elections. Republicans would have had more power (and more responsibility) for whatever happens over the next 2 years. Being out of power is its own blessing, as long as things are going poorly and people are angry.

Republicans were unable to capitalize on that trend this election for reasons that I’m sure will be hotly contested. The straightforward answers are: (1) Trump’s various ongoing public dumpster fires, which allowed Democrats to mostly re-assemble the 2020 anti-Trump coalition, and (2) the unpopularity of Roe v. Wade being overturned.

(1) Not enough of a reason to vote Blue, just because the old president is being unpopular with people

(2) Probably the main point for voting Blue in 2022, but if people forget about it by 2024, which might happen if everyone on both sides shut up about it, then that might not work by 2024

The democrats are popular in most places but the Republicans are popular in the Florida area

Wait and see the Democrats return to Florida once Biden is gone, I bet that at least 90% of the people who live in the countryside would vote Republican

Can I get a memechat request from OlympianProduct please to get endorsement from the conservatives stream?

Yeah hit him with a notif and he’ll invite you — but since he’s a C-mod I thought you could Memechat him anyway.

I tried to send him with a memechat request, wasn't active at that time and forgot about it even though I now follow him