Republicans Have to Show Up
(Jeff Carter) – We left our cabin in Minnesota to attend a friend’s son’s wedding in Detroit. I was able to see my 92-year-old father and spend some time with the grandkids in Chicago. On Monday, my wife and I attended the Cubs game. Before the game, we were able to listen to a presentation by our dear friend Sylvie Legere and Ashley Davis. Ashley has a new book, The Power Pivot. You can hear the interview on Sylvie’s podcast.
One great question after the presentation was this: Why don’t business leaders speak out when they see crazy stuff they know is wrong?
I was able to meet some old friends and make some new ones. It was nice to run into entrepreneur Chris Hill and my old friend Mark Tebbe. I also got reacquainted with Bob Odenkirk. He and I met through my friend Doug Nash back in 1988. Plus the Cubs won.
One of the guests was a national pollster. I won’t mention his name. If you watch the news channels, you have seen him. He would be considered a “Republican” pollster.
We were talking about the political climate in America with midterms coming. Basically, it stinks for Republicans. Not just a little. Across the country, Republicans are not turning out for elections. In our Nevada primary, 82% stayed home.
One huge problem is the inaction of the Senate in passing Trump’s agenda. Recess appointments do not happen. The SAVE Act is stalled. That’s affected turnout. Why elect them if they aren’t going to do anything?
The other problem is that Trump is not popular among independents. He’s lost them. Some polls have him negative 15 or more among independents. Why? Mostly the actions in Iraq. Trump said “no endless wars”, and even if Iran won’t be the price, gas jumped a couple of dollars a gallon. I don’t think Iran will be an endless war, but it seems like a military action that could have waited.
I know Trump says they were “ten weeks from a bomb,” but frankly, after Iran in 2003, my confidence in US Intelligence isn’t high. I am willing to be wrong about that. I also understand we have to deal with Iran. They fund Hamas, which attacks Israel, and Hamas needs to go just like the Palestinian terrorists needed to go.
If you think about the situation in economic terms, the Iran/US relationship was in something of an uneasy Nash Equilibrium. It would have been better for midterms if Trump waited until after they were over to upset the equilibrium.
So, the timing might have been better.
We spoke about Nevada politics. He mentioned we had a strong governor. But he said given the polls and turnout, it will be a very close race. If the Democrats had a decent candidate, it would have been a solid seat to flip. Fortunately for Nevada Republicans, they don’t.
For example, if Sen. Cortez-Masto decided to run, she would have been a solid favorite. At the time all the decisions were being made, Trump was much more popular, so the race seemed very uphill.
The other thing we are finding out is that a lot of big national donors are sitting on their hands. They aren’t going to be as active as usual. They read the prediction markets and polls as well as anyone else.
The good news is the Democrats have embraced a lot of socialists to lead them. Today there is a primary in Michigan. Let’s see how turnout is and if the socialists in Michigan win or not. Minnesota has a primary on August 11.
We are still in August, and no one is paying attention. Things get real after Labor Day, and it all can change.
Added:
An alert reader sent me this link. Democratic fundraising is down because USAID was exposed. All those people who said DOGE wouldn’t work should shut up. Looks like it worked. 95% of the money contributions from organizations that were shut down by DOGE went to Democratic candidates.
Dems have problems of their own. At the wedding, I spoke with a Democratic Senate staffer. They agreed the socialists are a problem. Anti-semitism is a huge problem for Democrats, but they were quick to point out the Republicans have a Tucker Carlson/Candace Owens/Nick Fuentes/Thomas Massie problem.
This article was originally published via JeffreyCarter.substack.com on 8/4/2026. The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. Digital technology may have been used in the research, writing, or production of this article. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
