Republicans: If You’re Saying, “My Candidate Lost, I’m Sitting This One Out,” We Need to Talk

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from covering politics and interviewing candidates every week on Angela’s Sweet Tea and Politics, it’s this: politics is a blood sport.

Republican primaries are tough. They should be. Conservatives are passionate people, and we care deeply about the future of our state and our country. Campaigns get heated. Words get exchanged. Feelings get hurt. That’s the nature of competitive elections.

But now it’s time to move forward.

The primary is over. The voters have spoken. Whether your candidate won or lost, we have one job between now and November—elect Republicans.

Let’s not fool ourselves. The Democrats are working every single day to gain ground in Alabama. While we remain a conservative state, Alabama has continued to grow, with more than 3.8 million registered voters. At the same time, voter turnout in this year’s Republican runoff was only 10.72% statewide. That means nearly nine out of ten registered voters stayed home. Those numbers should concern every Republican.

I’ve heard Republicans say, “My candidate lost, so I’m sitting this one out.”

Please don’t.

That decision doesn’t punish the candidate who won the primary. It only increases the chances that Democrats gain ground.

Like it or not, people continue moving into Alabama from all over the country. Many are conservatives looking for the freedoms our state offers, but not everyone who moves here shares our values. Alabama is changing, and Republicans cannot assume victory simply because we’ve been a conservative state for decades.

We simply cannot afford complacency.

This is why I’ve long believed Alabama should eventually move to a closed primary system so Republicans choose Republican nominees and Democrats choose Democratic nominees. That’s a conversation worth having after November. Right now, however, our mission is bigger than reliving the primary.

We have to win.

I’m asking every Republican club, every county executive committee, every grassroots organization, every conservative influencer, and every patriot across Alabama to make one message impossible to ignore.

Vote.

Post it on Facebook.

Share it on X.

Put it on Instagram.

Talk about it on your podcasts.

Text your friends.

Call your family.

Encourage your neighbors.

Keep reminding people every single week until Election Day.

The Democrats aren’t taking a day off, and neither should we.

We’ve debated. We’ve campaigned. We’ve chosen our nominees. Now let’s unite behind them and fight for conservative victories in November.

Whether you supported the winner or not, every Republican vote matters.

History has shown that divided parties make elections easier for their opponents. United conservatives accomplish remarkable things.

Let’s put the primary behind us.

Let’s unite.

Let’s turn out.

And let’s show the country that Alabama Republicans know how to come together when it matters most.

Because in November, we’re not fighting each other anymore.

We’re fighting for Alabama’s future.