Gary Bauer of American Values is disappointed that Christians did not turn out on Election Day, resulting in one of the worst Republican election defeats in recent memory.
"I'm heartbroken that at least part of the reason we lost was that the percentage of the electorate that was evangelical dropped," he tells American Family News. "The part of the electorate that was just Protestant dropped. Both Protestants and Catholics voted heavily for the pro-abortion, pro-gay rights socialist candidates."
According to preliminary 2026 exit-poll data, white evangelical or born-again Christians accounted for 17% of voters, down from 24% in the 2022 midterms. That represents roughly a 29% reduction in their share of the electorate.
According to Pew Research Center, white evangelical Protestants are among the most reliably Republican voting groups, while black evangelical Protestants are among the most reliably Democratic.
Bauer also points to the growing share of nonreligious voters as a factor in the election results.
"They don't believe in God or they're agnostic or they don't have any particular religious faith. Their segment of the electorate went up, and they voted overwhelmingly for left-wing candidates," he notes.
Bauer is also concerned about how Democrats intend to use their newly won congressional majorities.
Rather than focusing primarily on fulfilling campaign promises, many radical left-wingers who have taken control of the Democratic Party are already vowing to retaliate against Donald Trump and his supporters, advising Republicans to lawyer up.
Democrats' stated plans to investigate the Trump administration, pursue possible impeachment proceedings and challenge his agenda also raise questions about how much legislative attention they will devote to their own policy proposals.
Columnist Suzanne Bowdey says this reveals the Democrats' complete lack of vision and direction.
"The election was horrific," Bauer asserts. "I cannot imagine a scenario that we will get the Senate back in 2028, even if we win the presidency, and I highly doubt we'll get it back in 2030."
"I think the first chance will be 2032, because these senators have six-year terms," he says.
