Republicans, you can follow Donald Trump into the abyss or win elections. Choose wisely

Republicans have a stark choice going forward: Do they want Donald Trump or do they want to win?

Tuesday’s election results around the country prove Trump’s toxicity. Majorities agreed with Republicans about the biggest problems facing the country. They mostly saw the GOP as the better party to handle them. They agreed that President Joe Biden is performing poorly in his job. Economic anxiety is rising.

In any other year, these ingredients add up to a huge win for the out-of-power party.

But many voters couldn’t get past candidates, elevated by Trump, who were either unimpressive or dangerous. Republicans will control the House. They might still win a slim Senate majority.

They’re far short of where they wanted to be, though. And everyone knows the reason.

Elections are far too complicated to be about only one thing. The Democrats’ emphasis on the loss of abortion rights and threats to democracy surely had some impact. Every candidate owns the results of his or her campaign.

A handful of Republican victories proves the party has better options than Trump, and serious advantages with just typical candidates. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is getting most of the attention after his romp to re-election, which included solid wins in previously Democratic areas. But he’s not alone. Texan Greg Abbott shrugged off the most well-funded Democratic governor candidate in 30 years, blowing out Beto O’Rourke.

And Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp showed that you can defy Trump’s madness and win. He refused to help Trump’s pathetic efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, and Trump took it to him, backing a primary rival and even threatening at one point to support Democrat Stacey Abrams. Kemp held steady and blew out Abrams. He’s an important bulwark against election conspiracy theories in both parties.

Three days before this election, Trump was willing to talk down DeSantis publicly, presumably because he thinks (correctly) that the Florida governor is a threat. Trump gleefully targeted a Republican in Colorado who dared to oppose him; Joe O’Dea lost Tuesday to the Democratic incumbent.

And the candidate Trump pushed in New Hampshire’s Senate race, Don Bolduc, not only lost a winnable contest, but Trump even blamed Bolduc for being insufficiently dedicated to his election lies.

Because it has to be all about Trump — until, of course, the time comes to take responsibility for any hiccups. How many elections are Republicans willing to lose in service to Trump’s limitless ego?

Or, put another way, what evidence is there that sticking with Trump wins anything? He won the presidency in 2016 but lost the popular vote. Republicans were crushed in the 2018 midterms. Trump lost in 2020, even while other Republicans outperformed him.

Remember, too, that Trump sabotaged the unusual Senate runoffs that year in Georgia, persuading Republican voters to stay home and helping Democrats win Senate control. Those Biden policies that Republicans hate — on the border, capacious spending, dictatorial student-loan relief? Thank Trump for all of them.

Now, at least three Senate seats that Republicans could have held slipped away. If Democrats control the Senate, thank Trump for every Biden nominee confirmed to the judiciary, too.

Trump reportedly plans to announce his re-election bid next week. Perhaps Tuesday’s debacle gives him pause. Or perhaps his wounded pride makes him hunger even more for a friendly crowd.

Why, though, would he consider doing it at all? Was he afraid a big Republican win would make him a secondary story? Or is he trying to complicate things for Justice Department officials, who would have to think long and hard about indicting a presidential candidate on charges of mishandling classified documents?

There’s a thread through each possible reason: Trump’s ego. It’s not about good policies. It’s not about improving Americans’ lives. It’s not about advancing the party or conservatism. It’s about him.

Tuesday’s results at least improve the odds that a DeSantis, Kemp or Abbott will stick his neck out and take on Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024. Republicans at every level will have to decide if Trump is worth the risk of clearing a path for unchecked liberalism and wokeness.

One of the most crucial pivot points in Republican politics and the conservative movement came in 1964. Ronald Reagan delivered a televised speech on behalf of GOP nominee Barry Goldwater. And though Texan Lyndon Johnson crushed Goldwater that year, the speech opened eyes about the conservative agenda and propelled Reagan to his electoral career. The speech was known as “A Time for Choosing.”

Such a time has again arrived.