Tuesday’s elections were a GOP wake-up call for these two reasons

Tuesday night’s election results are a wake-up call: The GOP got swept in New York City, New Jersey, and Virginia.

Yes, they’re all blue jurisdictions. But Virginia’s current governor is Republican, many of us believed New Jersey was winnable, and New York City didn’t just elect any old ordinary Democrat but a self-proclaimed socialist.

No excuses. We just need to own it.

But a kick in the rear end isn’t always bad, if we’re willing to reflect and learn.

There are two key lessons from last night’s losses — one related to economics, another to the culture wars.

First, Republicans need to focus on the issue of affordability.

Too many Americans feel like they can’t afford a decent life, when costs have risen faster than wages over the last half-decade. We can’t hide from the problem because it isn’t going away.

Here’s what I hear across Ohio: Electric bills are rising, healthcare costs are nonsensical, home ownership is a struggle for young and elder Americans alike, and ordinary groceries are priced like luxury goods.

The problem isn’t limited to my home state, either; it’s a national phenomenon.

We know how to fix it. The root cause of inflation is government overspending, and we need to curb it at every level.

Supply-side constraints matter too, and we need to cut bureaucracy that gets in the way of production — including at the state and local levels.

Speed up permitting to build power plants and natural gas pipelines to reduce electric costs.

Get rid of red tape and land use restrictions that limit new home construction.

Slash property taxes to make ongoing home ownership more affordable.

I’ve been one of the most vocal critics of Zohran Mamdani’s asinine policy proposals. “Freezing the rent” or government control of grocery stores will eventually harm the very people he purports to help.

But give respect where it’s due: He was right to at least focus on the issue of affordability at all, while his opponents all but ignored it.

This is an irony because conservatives have the right answers to address the affordability challenge: relieve supply constraints, tame government waste, and deliver tax relief to working families.

But we now need to emphasize these solutions and move them to the top of our agenda, instead of getting lost in distractions.

And that’s the second lesson: It’s time for the GOP to officially reject identity politics, once and for all.

I wrote my first book, “Woke, Inc.,” in 2021 to criticize left-wing identity politics in corporate America.

I wrote my second book, “Nation of Victims,” in 2022 to criticize left-wing identity politics in American culture.

I wrote my fourth book, “Truths,” last year to re-emphasize both points ahead of the election.

I traveled the country to help re-elect President Donald Trump, who stands for merit over group quotas. I’m proud to have supported him.

So take it from me when I say that racial grievance politics is now emerging as a real problem — not just on the left, but in an ascendant online fringe of the American right.

Until recently, this was mostly reserved for dusty corners of the internet (just take a look at replies to my own X feed, if you want a taste for some of the fringe right’s toxicity against Hindus and Indian-Americans — “pajeet,” “street s—ter,” etc.).

But there’s reason to believe that these online currents are now affecting voter behavior in the real world too.

Sherrill was called “horse faced” and attacked with misogynistic slurs I won’t repeat here. Virginia’s Abigail Spanberger faced much of the same.

In New York, Mamdani — a Muslim American — was labeled a “terrorist,” “raghead” and worse.

As conservatives, we should be able to say that this is disgusting and morally wrong. And we should be able to say it without stuttering.

Yet many Republicans can’t, because they’re afraid of online backlash from what was once just an irrelevant fringe of actual bigots who don’t actually represent our party in the real world.

But these kinds of attacks helped Democrats defeat Republicans last night.

When independent voters see toxic voices on the new right acting like the identitarian left — obsessing over someone’s race, religion, or gender instead of their ideas — they reject it.

We’re supposed to be the party of merit, hard work, and the American Dream — the idea that anyone, from any racial background, can succeed based on hard work and talent.

When we traffic in the woke left’s identity-based obsession, we betray our own values.

The online fringes want to drag us into rabbit holes about genetic identity, religious litmus tests, and ethnic grievances.

It’s a trap.

Most Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Latinos and Asian Americans are naturally conservative. They value faith, family, hard work and entrepreneurship.

Many fled socialist countries or religious persecution to seek freedom. They want school choice, safe streets, and economic opportunity.

They should be Republican voters. We should embrace them, not chase them away.

Tuesday’s losses stung. But hardship isn’t victimhood.

If we focus on affordability and reject toxic identity politics, we’ll win in 2026 with the same coalition that elected President Trump last year.

It’s time to remember who we are as Republicans and what we actually stand for — and to act boldly in the face of idiocy and bigotry without apology.

Vivek Ramaswamy is a candidate for Governor of Ohio.