Ill admit it. Tuesday night was disappointing.
I expected Republicans to lose more seats than they flipped. History suggested as much. But I certainly didnt expect the results to be quite that bad.
Still, buried beneath the headlines celebrating Democratic victories was a rather inconvenient development for the political left. Americans may have voted to elect Democrats, but that doesnt mean theyve suddenly developed an appetite for the progressive social agenda again.
In fact, on one of the most contentious cultural issues of the last several years, voters delivered a remarkably consistent message.
Keep men out of womens sports.
In Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska and Washington, voters backed measures protecting female athletic competition on the basis of biological sex.
And these werent just Republican strongholds. Colorado and Washington are reliably blue states whose political leadership has spent years embracing progressive gender policies.
Yet the same electorate willing to put Democrats in positions of power also voted to reject a central pillar of the modern progressive agenda.
I dont know how much clearer voters can make themselves.
WASHINGTON STATE VOTERS APPEAR TO PASS FIRST-EVER BALLOT MEASURE SEPARATING BOYS AND GIRLS SPORTS
For years, elected Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media have insisted that protecting womens sports is an extreme position and that anyone who dares advocate for it is a hate-filled bigot. And believe me, thats one of the nicer things Ive been called.
Weve been told that acknowledging biological differences between men and women is transphobic. That girls who object to sharing locker rooms or competing against male athletes are the problem. That sports should prioritize inclusion and kindness, even when doing so comes at the expense of fairness and safety.
Ive personally experienced what happens when you challenge that orthodoxy. Ive also watched countless female athletes lose opportunities, endure public ridicule and face enormous pressure to remain silent simply for asking for something as basic as a fair shot.
Ive watched politicians, university administrators and athletic organizations bend themselves into knots trying to explain why women should be expected to sacrifice their own opportunities in the name of inclusion.
Voters made their position clear in 2024, when the Republican agenda prevailed nationally. Apparently, even after voting for Democrats in 2026, they still arent buying what the progressive left is selling on this issue.
Consider Colorado.
Opponents of the girls sports initiative reportedly raised roughly $4 million, with substantial backing from unions and progressive organizations, including Planned Parenthood. Proponents raised approximately $200,000, largely through grassroots efforts.
They prevailed despite being outspent nearly 20 to 1.
Thats a staggering disparity, and an even more telling result. At what point does the political left accept that this is a losing issue and give it a rest?
Womens sports protections are not some fringe position held exclusively by Republicans. The issue cut
