The Wisdom of Crowds and Winning: A Popularity Without Purpose?

The recent elections have delivered Republicans a moment of triumph that even the skeptics among us—myself included—must applaud. Nowhere is this victory more vivid than in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis has once again demonstrated what a principled, focused conservative vision can achieve. Under his stewardship, Floridians not only rejected two potentially disastrous constitutional amendments—Amendments 3 and 4, both of which could have eroded the core values of the state and had national implications—but did so resoundingly an unmistakable affirmation that conservative leadership, when paired with a clear sense of direction, can defeat the misguided impulses of progressive overreach. Trump’s victory too, his successful unconventional campaign possible with no other candidates has echoed the triumph across the court and shattered expectations of how election night would go even for the most adamant Trump supporter. Overall thanks to a tapping into and an increase turnout of male voters seeking to stop the ascendency of Kamala Harris and overall general grievances about the Biden administration the elections were a resounding blowout. Trump in fact has a mandate. To do what? We’ll have to wait and see.

But even as we celebrate—even those of us who are highly critical of Trump—we must also take stock of what these wins say about the party as a whole. Florida, thanks to the leadership of DeSantis, has a clear identity. But on the national level, the Republican Party often appears adrift. There is the populist fervor, to be sure, the rallying cries against “the system” and against “the elites”—and these have their place. Yet we find ourselves asking: what, precisely, do we stand for as a movement? Also what exactly are we to expect given all the high expectations and many contradictory promises made? Are we here to simply react to the left, to ride the waves of populist anger without a compass? Or do we, like Florida, have a true sense of purpose, a vision that transcends any one leader or moment? Something we plan to make permanent for the next iteration?