The 2022 midterms were a mixed bag. While Republicans look well-positioned to take over the House of Representatives with the slimmest of majorities and Republican governors still outnumber their Democratic counterparts, let's face it: the GOP underperformed.
Meanwhile, those on the Democratic side seem both relieved and ecstatic at the outcome. As Democratic strategist Jess O'Connell noted, "The results so far don't seem like a repudiation of Biden's presidency, in fact, the opposite."
But with a better than expected election cycle under their belts, Democrats still came up short with their so-called "rock star" candidates. Charlie Crist, Beto O'Rourke and Stacey Abrams were all defeated in their gubernatorial bids.
And they didn't just lose. They lost bigly, to take one from former President Donald Trump.
Let's start in Florida. These days, Charlie Crist seems like someone who's taken off the shelf to run again, gets put back, and is then quickly forgotten about. Crist has loitered around Florida's political scene for decades. He has no buyers.
In his latest comeback bid for statewide office, it looks as if Crist will lose by nearly 20 points to incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Not only does that represent a shellacking of epic proportions, DeSantis' landslide victory marks the biggest win for a GOP candidate in the Sunshine State's history, surpassing Jeb Bush's 13-point win back in 2002.
Prior to this cycle, Crist had lost a bid for the U.S. Senate to Marco Rubio in 2010 and another run for governor in 2014 against Rick Scott.
While he was successful as a candidate for the House of Representatives in 2016, Crist's victory was in large part thanks to a Florida Supreme Court ruling, which ordered his district redrawn and resulted in tens of thousands of Democratic voters being added to it.
Ironic, considering Crist was first elected as a Republican, only becoming a Democrat when it appeared politically opportunistic for his own future.
Then there's Robert Francis O'Rourke, more popularly known as Beto.
Beto came roaring onto the national scene in 2018 when he challenged incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas. While he gave Cruz a run for his money, O'Rourke ultimately came up short.
However, Beto's loss was sufficient for Democratic activists to encourage him to take a crack at the presidency.
His presidential ambitions were short-lived though, as he was forced to drop out of the race before he could obtain a single delegate or vote since he ended his campaign before the first primary.
With two losses in less than two years, Beto decided to challenge popular incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott this election cycle. Turns out, this race was to become his largest defeat to date. Abbott bested O'Rourke by 11 points, which translates into nearly 1 million votes!
A substantial loss, considering Beto scored the endorsements of celebrities across the gambit, including Selena Gomez, Oprah and Willie Nelson. Even Will Ferrell traveled from California to the Lone Star State just to spend a day canvasing door-to-door for O'Rourke!
Oddly enough, O'Rourke has achieved something very few perennial candidates have. He now has a Triple Crown to his name in terms of losses, losing bids for the Senate, presidency, and governor.
With a record like that, a presidential bid in 2024 seems a sure bet.
Which brings us full circle to Stacey Abrams, the "incumbent" governor of Georgia.
Abrams first ran for governor in 2018. While she came close to besting Brian Kemp in what turned out to be the closest governor's race since 1966, she ended up getting beat by over 50,000 votes.
However, Abrams never actually conceded the 2018 race. She suspended her campaign, but stopped short of saying that the election was indeed "legitimate."
Fast-forward to 2022 in what turned out to be a rematch. Unlike 2018, which took days to decide, this race was called early in the evening. Abrams lost by 8 points, or 300,000 votes.
Lucky for the incoming administration, Abrams called to concede this time around. To date, she has not given the press or Gov.-elect Kemp details about her transition team or plans post-office.
Let's hope for a smooth transfer of power!
Charlie Crist, Beto O'Rourke and Stacey Abrams all come from different backgrounds and states, but share one common distinction. At one time or another, they were called "rock stars" by pundits, activists and the Democratic establishment.
Perhaps 2022 marked their farewell tour. I, for one, am looking forward to the reunion tour.
Jacob Lane is a Republican strategist and school choice activist. He has worked for GOP campaigns at the federal, state and local levels, as well as with various PACs and non-profits. Read Jacob Lane's Reports — More Here.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.