Curtis blames GOP midterm losses on abandonment of conservative values

SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. John Curtis is attributing Republicans' widespread midterm losses to the fact that he believes the party has abandoned its core conservative values in an effort to win elections — a strategy he argued backfired this midterm cycle.

In a candid post to his personal newsletter on Tuesday evening, Curtis reflected on the election results that, while still being counted, showed massive defeats for Republicans across the country — even in seats once deemed solidly red. Curtis suggested GOP lawmakers have become out of step with voters in recent years, arguing the party has given up its focus on limited government and fiscal responsibility to instead focus on just winning elections.

"Over the last decade … our party has steadily drifted from the principles that once defined us," he wrote. "Many shrewd political minds found it worth abandoning these principles in order to win elections—they were largely right. The populist movement brought millions of Americans into our party, many of whom felt forgotten by Washington. I welcome them. They belong in our big-tent party, and we owe them more than political promises."

While Curtis praised the last decade of the Trump populist movement focusing on expanding its party's tent to include demographics who felt abandoned by those in Washington, D.C., he argued that the party has since failed those same voters.

Curtis pointed to a "hastily planned war" that disrupted oil markets and caused surging gas prices, "headline after headline of scandals," and a public debt that has ballooned past $40 trillion. The Utah senator also criticized Trump for siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, a U.S. ally, in the ongoing foreign war.

"I can't reconcile these things with the conservative principles that brought me into public service," he wrote. "And I don't think we should try."

Curtis' remarks come as Republicans faced a wipeout in the midterm elections, with the party projected to lose its slim House majority and a number of Senate seats flipped to Democratic control.

The Utah Republican blamed "the failures of our party as a whole" for Republican incumbents losing their races, arguing they "deserved better."

"If our response is to blame the media, the polls, or the voters, we'll have learned absolutely nothing," Curtis wrote. "We might start by looking in the mirror."

President Donald Trump has remained mostly quiet since election results began pouring in, with the exception of a social media post late Tuesday night after two Republican Senate seats had flipped, declaring: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won in a LANDSLIDE!" Trump focused much of his midterm message urging Republican voters to "pretend I'm on the ballot."

The midterm election results are not yet finalized, although early predictions showed Democrats winning the House and gaining the majority in the Senate.

Here is Curtis' full statement:

"I grew up in Utah, where pioneer values were more than something we learned about in history books. They were how we lived. Hard work, thrift, self-reliance, faith, family, integrity, and responsibility to our neighbors. Those values shaped my life and, eventually, my politics.

"For much of my life, I saw those same principles reflected in the Republican Party. Leaders like Ronald Reagan championed limited government, free trade, resolute diplomacy and global leadership, and fiscal responsibility.

"Over the last decade, however, our party has steadily drifted from the principles that once defined us.

"Many shrewd political minds found it worth abandoning these principles in order to win elections — they were largely right. The populist movement brought millions of Americans into our party, many of whom felt forgotten by Washington. I welcome them. They belong in our big-tent party, and we owe them more than political promises.

"But winning elections was never the ultimate objective. We wanted to win so we could govern according to principles that make people's lives better. We know from experience, not just theory, that a truly conservative policy agenda fosters the greatest chance for human flourishing—marked by robust economic opportunity, stronger families and households, and a global order led by the United States with help from its democratic allies and partners.

"Unfortunately, by putting aside our core values, we've let down a lot of those same Americans who recently joined our party. Instead of finally seeing relief on prices after the reckless Biden years, they saw a hastily planned war disrupt oil markets. Instead of enjoying a restoration of order and integrity in our government, they read headline after headline of scandals, incompetence, and corruption. Instead of economic stability and fiscal prudence, they saw the public debt balloon past $40 trillion—leading to volatile markets. Instead of peace through strength, they saw the leader of the free world side with Putin over a strategic ally.

"I can't reconcile these things with the conservative principles that brought me into public service. And I don't think we should try.

"Tonight's election results should be a wake-up call. We lost good colleagues, people who served honorably and deserved better than to be swept up in the failures of our party as a whole. But if our response is to blame the media, the polls, or the voters, we'll have learned absolutely nothing. We might start by looking in the mirror.

"The pioneers didn't build Utah by looking for someone else to blame when things went wrong. They rolled up their sleeves, worked together, and got to work.

"We would do well to step away from our echo chambers and have genuine conversations with the everyday people whom we represent. Perhaps we'd be reminded that what they have been asking for this whole time is actually the outcomes of a principled conservative agenda.

"My time in Washington has shown me that far more lawmakers want to work in good faith than the headlines suggest. As we enter a new era of divided government, it'll be more important than ever to put petty partisan politics aside and come together to solve the pressing issues the American people have begged us to address.

"The voters have done their job. Now it's time for us to do ours.

"And for Republicans, that work begins by returning to our roots."

Related topics