Editorial: Republicans trounced up and down the ballot

Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Nov 5, 2026

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Nevada followed the trend Tuesday, as Democrats routed Republicans up and down the state ballot. The domination was deep and widespread.

The results, nationally and statewide, signify widespread displeasure with President Donald Trump and serve as a sharp rebuke of White House policies — Iran, tariffs and overzealous immigration enforcement, for instance — that many Americans blame for creating “affordability” problems.

Trump’s second-term emphasis — which gave short shrift to his signature achievements on taxes, regulatory reform and judicial nominees — may have juiced his die-hard base but failed to sustain and build upon the larger coalition that propelled the GOP to victory just two years ago. The moderate and independent voters who boosted Republicans in 2024 flocked to the Democrats by default.

Nationally, Democrats picked up seven Senate seats, gaining firm control of the upper chamber and making major inroads in Republican strongholds such as Texas. They are also projected to gain as many as 35 seats in the House. Expect an onslaught of congressional investigations targeting Trump and members of his Cabinet.

In the Silver State, Democrats swept all five state constitutional offices — and none of the races was particularly close. Attorney General Aaron Ford defeated incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo by 7 points. Democrats even won Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District, as Teresa Benitez-Thompson overcame a significant GOP registration advantage to defeat her Republican opponent by more than 6 points. Republicans are now shut out of the state’s four-member congressional delegation.

Nevada Democrats will also gain a supermajority in the Assembly.

Republicans have long trailed Democrats in this state when it comes to organization and candidate quality, but the breadth of Tuesday’s onslaught represented something more than simple logistics. Republicans on both the state and national level would do well to return to emphasizing market-oriented policies that enhance and create economic opportunity and lay the foundation for more widespread prosperity. Voters deserve a coherent GOP philosophy as an alternative to the hard-left drift of the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, Democrats spent Wednesday rejoicing, but their work has just begun. History tells us that they’re likely to interpret their election success as a license to indulge their own worst excesses, but that would be a mistake — for their long-term prospects and the country as a whole. Politics is cyclical, and swing voters have proved consistently in recent years that their loyalties tend in no particular direction. Democratic overreach — in Carson City or Washington, D.C. — risks pushing the pendulum in the other direction.