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Republicans assessed Tuesday’s election results across Wisconsin and Georgia as Democrats notched special-election victories and appeared to strengthen their position heading into the November midterms.
One of the sharpest internal appraisals came from U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor in Wisconsin. Speaking bluntly about what the results meant for his party’s prospects, Tiffany said, “We got our butts kicked,” referring to Democratic victories in Wisconsin and to a Georgia special election where Republicans’ margin was smaller than in the past.
In Georgia, the Democratic progress reflected in the race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress came after Greene’s departure from the seat earlier this year. The Georgia contest also fed Republican concern that Democrats could hold and build momentum in state and congressional politics as voters head toward the midterms.
Jared Leopold, a Democratic consultant whose clients include Keisha Lance Bottoms, said the message of the results was broader than any single contest. Leopold said, “In rural, urban, red, blue, Democrats have overperformed everywhere,” and called it “a significant canary in the coal mine” for what November 2026 could look like.
Other Republicans urged restraint. Stephen Lawson, a Georgia strategist, said, “the sky is not falling,” and pointed to the party’s fundraising position as stronger than Democrats’. Lawson also said Republicans are running behind where they have been in the past and need to “look[ ] at these results carefully.”
Democrats also drew support from additional state-level contests outside Wisconsin and Georgia, arguing the special-election outcomes fit a wider pattern of gains. The AP account said Democrats flipped a Texas state Senate district, won a state House seat in a Florida district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, and then gained ground Tuesday in the Georgia race to replace Greene.
In the Georgia contest, the margin difference from recent history became part of how both parties assessed the result. Clay Fuller won by 12 percentage points, according to a social media post by Josh McKoon, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, while the report said Greene had previously won by 29 percentage points and Trump carried the district by almost 37 percentage points.
Meredith Brasher, a Democratic strategist, characterized the Georgia outcome as an early warning sign for Republicans, saying, “That’s a red alarm for Republicans.” The report said Democrat Shawn Harris plans to challenge Fuller again in November, keeping the contest on the midterm calendar.
Wisconsin provided another focus for Democrats’ momentum. The report said Wisconsin Democrats expanded their majority with a “20-percentage-point blowout victory” on Tuesday in statewide elections for Supreme Court seats. It added that Democrats saw gains in red, blue and purple counties compared with another judicial race last year, which was also won by the liberal candidate.
The report said Democrats also made inroads in Waukesha, a conservative suburb outside Milwaukee, where Democrat Alicia Halvensleben, president of the city’s Common Council, defeated Republican Scott Allen, one of the most conservative members of the state Assembly. Halvensleben said Trump came up “a lot” during her campaigning but attributed her victory to local issues and to the state legislature’s lack of action.
The Wisconsin Democratic leaders framing the results said the party’s strength in these varied settings pointed toward an energized midterm electorate. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Devin Remiker said, “This to me was a very clear sign of momentum and enthusiasm for Democrats in the fall,” while Democratic former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes, running for governor, said it was “time for us to put this thing in overdrive.”
Republican candidate Tiffany, however, cautioned against treating Tuesday’s results as a direct forecast. Tiffany said “every election is unique,” and he said he was not making changes to his campaign, adding that winning depends on “paint[ing] that clear contrast of how we are going to help everyday Wisconsinites.”
Even so, Tiffany’s caution did not erase the report’s emphasis on anxiety and uncertainty across the political map. Democrat David Crowley, also running for governor, said it is “clear that ‘people are really upset with the Republican Party and their brand right now,’” while Crowley added that discontent does not automatically translate into votes for Democrats and said the campaign must continue to focus on issues and values for all Wisconsin voters. Democrat Halvensleben also said, “There’s so much uncertainty at the national level,” and linked it to anxiety that reached “all the way down to the local level.”