I didn’t spend much time on last week’s off-year elections. So much else was going on they somehow fell through the cracks. They shouldn’t be ignored, though. For the second year in a row, Republicans underperformed. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio called the results of the successful pro-choice vote in his state a “gut punch.” The moderate 15-week abortion ban that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin was pushing in his state failed to sway voters, as they gave full control of the state legislature to Democrats.

Caught off guard by these results, Republican Party leadership is making noises (at least when questioned) about identifying where they went wrong. How serious they are remains to be seen. In the event they are serious, though, today’s featured columnist has some tips. The party brass would be wise to listen.