Opinion: Jason Chaffetz Says Five Basic Campaign Lessons Got Lost in 2026, From Candidate Quality to the Danger of Skipping Primaries
In a Fox News column, the former congressman argues Republicans should relearn the basics before 2028: field better candidates, deliver results voters can feel, stop spamming them, let voters pick nominees, and stop chasing endorsements. The views are his.
This is a summary of an opinion column on Fox News by Jason Chaffetz. The views are his, not RightNewsRightNow's.
His argument. Chaffetz writes that while House and Senate leadership is changing, "the fundamentals of American politics have not," and that Republicans looking to 2028 should "double down on the basics of campaigning that stand the test of time." He lists five lessons.
- Candidate quality matters. A candidate who cannot connect with people, lay out a positive vision or run a disciplined operation is eventually vulnerable. Celebrity, political dynasties, comfortable incumbents or last-minute appointments do not automatically bring votes.
- Results must be felt. A majority is judged on outcomes, not talking points: prices at the pump and the grocery store, safe communities, and whether the problems voters wanted fixed in 2024 got fixed. He faults the Senate for not building on the House's work, maximizing judicial appointments or securing the president's election security promise, and says "excuses do not win midterms."
- Volume is not a strategy. Exaggerated attack ads, constant texts and uninvited fundraising emails, he writes, "irritate" voters, and consultants who count how often they hit the same voter are teaching people to ignore them.
- Candidate choice is a local decision. He says putting a finger on the scale before voters affirm a candidate is "a recipe for disaster." He compares the elevation of Kamala Harris without a real primary to South Carolina, where Darline Graham was appointed to her late brother's seat, backed heavily through the primary, and rejected by voters in a deep-red state.
- Endorsements do not win or lose races. They help a political unknown, but for federal office, he writes, voters mostly weigh the candidate in front of them and that candidate's message and plans.
Related. Our earlier reports covered other columns on why Republicans lost ground and what the party should do next.
What we could not check. The column does not cite polling or turnout data for its claims. Whether specific primaries or endorsements caused particular losses is his judgment, and other writers we have covered point to different causes, including prices and the Iran war.