Published November 29, 2022
As Republicans massage their bruises after a disappointing midterm election, debate has swirled fast and furious about whom to blame for the mysterious absence of the predicted “red wave.” Some have alleged it as proof that the Dobbs decision reversing Roe v. Wade was a Pyrrhic victory, and that the Democrats’ pro-abortion messaging was successful. Yet other explanations seem at least as compelling. Poor candidate selection played a role in many races, such as the Georgia and Pennsylvania Senate seats. Trump’s continued insistence on making the election about himself surely hurt the GOP with moderate voters. Also, hubris played a part, as Republicans failed to put forward a compelling reason to vote for them and assumed that anyone in their right mind would vote against the Democrats.
But if it is wrong to blame GOP failures on abortion alone, there is no question that election night revealed that the right does have an abortion problem.
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Brad Littlejohn, Ph.D., is a Fellow in EPPC’s Evangelicals in Civic Life Program, where his work focuses on helping public leaders understand the intellectual and historical foundations of our current breakdown of public trust, social cohesion, and sound governance. His research investigates shifting understandings of the nature of freedom and authority, and how a more full-orbed conception of freedom, rooted in the Christian tradition, can inform policy that respects both the dignity of the individual and the urgency of the common good. He also serves as President of the Davenant Institute.
Brad Littlejohn was a Fellow in EPPC’s Technology and Human Flourishing and Evangelicals in Civic Life programs from 2022-2025. His wide-ranging research and writing encompasses work on the relation of digital technology and embodiment, the appropriate limits of free speech, the nature of freedom and authority in the Christian tradition, and the retrieval of a Protestant natural law ethic.
