The right’s decades-long political pacifism and neglect has allowed the left to convince young people to embrace socialism and political violence. What’s the solution? Conservatives must give Gen Z something better to love and fight for.
The results of the 2025 elections spelled defeat for conservatives. What did we learn? How should Christians think about this?
It is clear that the 2025 election results were not good. Whether you live in New York City, Virginia, New Jersey, Minneapolis, or California. Rather than rehash all of it, what is the post-mortem? Here are five critical takeaways we have learned so far:
First, identity politics is a failed political strategy. Conservatives will not win by playing this game. You can’t adopt a leftist strategy and expect to win. Identitarianism, which has defined so much of the leftist ideology and political strategy, is not how most people actually vote. It may be the messaging of the left, but when a white democrat and a black republican are on the same ballot, Democrats will always vote for the Democrat, especially when it means abandoning or betraying the platform of victimization. Don’t believe them by what they say — believe them by what they do and how they vote. Leftists play the identity game until political power is actually at stake.
Republican candidate Winsome Sears started her campaign by saying, “Seven quarters. That’s how many quarters my dad arrived with when we came from Jamaica.” Her entire campaign was built on her status as a Jamaican-born immigrant. While Winsome Sears would have made a good governor, this strategy ultimately failed because it was not a compelling message. Her campaign had multiple missteps on the way and got started late into the election cycle. Democrats outspent Republicans in the state of Virginia.
According to CBS exit polling, 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for Republican Winsome Sears. And according to the same polling, 90 percent of black voters cast their ballot for Democrat Abigail Spanberger. It’s clear that white evangelical voters are not motivated by race when it comes to their vote. It’s clear that identity politics is also not the pathway to victory in an election. You need a strong candidate, a strong message, and an overwhelming turnout.
Second, Virginians voted for a man who fantasized about killing his opponents. Virginians literally rewarded a candidate who said what no one should ever say, let alone think — that he preferred his opponents and their children dead so that we could move on policy. That is perniciously wicked, evil, and sadistic. It should outrage any American of any political or religious stripe.
How did Jay Jones win? Was it because Virginian voters applauded that message? They may not have applauded it, but they endorsed the message at the ballot box. And Abigail Spanberger had enough of a voter turnout to help carry Jones across the finish line.
Moral outrage is no longer enough to win an election. Moral outrage will cause your opponent to lose an election. And Democrats chose political power over the principle of moral decency. All conservatives around the nation should take note for future elections. The only way to defeat evil is by winning. Moral outrage alone is not winning.
Third, Charlie Kirk’s murder was not enough to wake everyone up to the reality of evil. It was not enough to rally conservatives to get out and vote. That is one of the most tragic things we must face. Charlie’s horrific assassination did not impact the outcome or results of the 2025 election at all.
The chairwoman of the school board in Chesterfield County, Virginia, Dot Hefron, posted on her Instagram story celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk, saying, “Call me old fashioned, but I remember a time when we were ok with Nazis being killed.” And many echoed similar sentiment, whether it was Jimmy Kimmel or scores of leftists online. All of that signaled that there is true hatred, animosity, and division in this country. Many excused Charlie’s murder, saying he had it coming.
As my friend Nick Freitas reminded me, we shouldn’t be surprised when those on the left celebrate the murder of someone they hate if they are truly willing to celebrate the murder of their own babies. The left didn’t hide their reaction to Charlie’s murder. And those on the right weren’t inspired to get out and vote.
Fourth, the New York City’s mayoral race was not anything like a conventional election. A Jihad-sympathizing Muslim Marxist won that race, but it appears that the coalition that elected him was filled with the most radical elements of the Democratic Party. That includes foreign-born immigrants who now make up 40 percent of New York’s total population.
Mamdani said in his election victory speech, “I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist and I refuse to apologize for any of this.” Mamdani also famously griped and grieved over the treatment of his Muslim aunt on September 11, 2001, rather than the nearly 3,000 Americans who lost their lives at the hands of Muslim terrorists.
Grievances are what guided his campaign. Grievances against billionaires. Grievances against generations of law-abiding, tax-paying New Yorkers. Grievances against everyday Americans. The coalition that elected him was not unlike the national demographic that voted for Kamala Harris. Women under the age of 30 supported Mamdani by more than 80 percent.
The fifth and most obvious thing we can learn from the 2025 elections is this: People need a reason to fight and vote. Three basic things decide all elections. The first is having the right candidate to run. Second is having a winning message. Third (which is most often neglected) is getting out the vote. This year in Virginia and New Jersey, there was a huge emphasis on getting out the vote, but in both elections, many stayed home because Trump was not on the ballot, and those running didn’t inspire voter turnout.
So, what is the reason to fight and vote? Boomer conservatives have fallen short on answers. The Gen Z generation needs a reason to come out in droves, an answer to this simple question: “What do we get if we win?”
Most Gen Z are not actually socialist, nor are they grandpa capitalists — they’re somewhere in between. They’ve done education. They know the hustle. They work for a paycheck. But they feel locked out of the American dream.
The average homebuyer in the United States is a Gen Xer in their 50s. The average first-time home buyer is a Millennial approaching 40. That, coupled with inflation and rising prices on everyday staples like rent, gas, and groceries, means that most Gen Z do not have an ownership stake in America.
The political messaging today, among conservatives, has to address basic questions, like: How will you make home ownership affordable? Or make the raising of a family achievable? How can the youngest generation live like the generations before? How do they achieve the American dream?
Gen Z doesn’t want socialism. They want answers. They want a system that works. Capitalism didn’t cause these problems — rather, 90 years of government intervention, federal reserve banking, tax on income, inflation on government debt produced a hollowing-out effect in the middle class, all across America.
In other words: It’s the economy, stupid.
Tucker Carlson was right at least about one thing: It is cheaper to buy groceries in Moscow than it is in New York City. Mamdani didn’t win because people want socialism. Mamdani won because there was no alternative for a better way forward. Only 1 in 4 voters who cast their vote for Mamdani called themselves socialists.
The 2025 elections have real consequences, and we will be living with the results for quite some time.
But Christians need to be aware of what time it is. We don’t need to be naïve about the realities of what motivates our nation, our neighbors, and the youngest generation. Like all of us, people need something to love, to own, to hope for, to fight for, and to die for. And Christians with a strong biblical foundation have all these answers in spades.
Be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in you. Be prepared to advance the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to defend American freedom. Be prepared to face the consequences of pacifism and neglect. Be prepared to make costly sacrifices to see freedom return. Be prepared to fight, fight, fight.
This is a lightly edited transcript of the “Here’s the Point” podcast by Ryan Helfenbein, executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center seen below.
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