Winners and losers from the 2020 election

OPINION:

We are blessed to live in the greatest superpower in the world. Thank you to our veterans and current military personnel for fighting to protect our freedoms.

Voting is one of our most important rights. With that in mind, here is a list of the winners and losers from the 2020 election:

Winner: Republicans in the states. In what the media and pollsters predicted would be a massive blue wave, the GOP held onto legislative majorities across the country and added new majorities in the New Hampshire House and Senate, and the Alaska House. Republican governors won by incredible margins, and a Republican governor was elected in Montana for the first time in 16 years (hat tip to RSLC, RGA and NRRT).

Loser: Eric Holder. Barack Obama’s former attorney general raised and spent hundreds of millions of dollars on legislative and other state races across the country to try and gerrymander Democrats into long-term control of the U.S. House. He failed — miserably.

Winner: President Donald J. Trump. Regardless of the final outcome, the president has accomplished more in one term than almost any of his predecessors. He signed one of the largest tax cuts in history, cut red tape, expanded educational opportunities, restored our military greatness, protected the unborn, defended the Second Amendment, secured our borders and moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

Loser: Media. The “mostly peaceful protests” caption under a live shot of parts of Kenosha, Wisconsin burning to the ground says it all. Throughout the campaign, so many media outlets got the information wrong, bought into the lies of the left and made erroneous predictions (often based on faulty polls). They were off again on election night when suggesting Joe Biden might carry Texas.

Winner: Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Despite the media and pollsters saying they would lose five to 15 seats, and despite an incredible financial disadvantage, House Republicans actually gained seats. Congratulations to Mr. McCarthy for recruiting outstanding candidates — including dynamic women and people of color. Plus, state legislative majorities will help draw maps that will be competitive for strong candidates in 2022.

Loser: House Speaker (for now) Nancy Pelosi. Talk of socialism and calls to “defund the police” totally undermined her vulnerable members. Many of them promised to put the country before their party but spent most of their first term on a partisan impeachment. Mrs. Pelosi could not control House Democrats before, and it will be even more challenging with a slimmer margin. Will “The Squad” pick the next speaker of the House?

Winner: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Senate Republicans were supposed to go down in flames. In many races, the left spent historic amounts against GOP incumbents. Republican losses were expected in Colorado and Arizona, but enormous victories in Maine, Alaska, Iowa and North Carolina — along with the expected win in Alabama — gave the GOP an excellent chance of keeping the majority with wins in both of the Georgia run-offs.

Loser: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Despite huge advantages — a number of competitive races with incumbents, a highly motivated base, media bias, poor polling and a tremendous funding advantage — Democrats failed to make predicted gains.

If Democrats win both Georgia Senate races, however, the real losers will be those who believe in checks and balances on the federal government. Liberals made it clear that they will demand a vote to end the filibuster, likely leading to a vote to pack the U.S. Supreme Court and votes to add the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as the 51st and 52nd states.

Winner: The U.S. Constitution. Thanks to the brave leadership of Mr. McConnell, the members of the Senate voted to confirm the exceptionally well qualified Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The newest member of the Supreme Court is a staunch defender of the Constitution. It would have been a colossal failure had she not been confirmed before the election. Thankfully, it was a huge win.

Loser: Transparency in elections. Stories of government employees blocking people from observing the work of election officials counting ballots in places like Detroit and Philadelphia, if accurate, are a major blow to transparency. In a very close election, transparency is essential for the legitimacy of the final outcome.

Loser: Pollsters. The people conducting polls got it wrong — again. They were off on the president, off on the Senate and off on the House races. Watch for fewer and fewer people to believe polls.

Winner: Grassroots. Republicans got incredible support from grassroots volunteers all over the country. That, and outstanding local, state and federal candidates, led to significant wins.

Loser: Big Money. Liberals poured enormous amounts of money into state and federal campaigns all over the country. Much of that money was spent falsely attacking Republicans. Thankfully, the grassroots helped counter these attacks.

Winner: Americans. We live in a country with limitless potential. Let’s persist in our work to expand freedom and opportunity for all!

• Scott Walker was the 45th governor of Wisconsin. You can contact him at swalker@washingtontimes.com or follow him @ScottWalker.