The United States has just held the long-awaited midterm elections. The midterm elections come halfway through a US President’s 4-year term of office. Americans voted for House and Senate candidates as well as state governors. Republicans had shown great hopes in recent months that there would be a “red wave” washing over both the House of Representatives and the US Senate, but they did not achieve those sanguine expectations (In the US, liberal Democrats identify as “blue” and conservative Republicans are considered “red,” the opposite of our colour-coded Canadian Liberals and Conservatives). There were a few bright spots though, for conservative-minded Americans. One such was the re-election of incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida; 59% of Floridians chose pro-life, pro-family, pro-freedom DeSantis for a second term.

Why should this matter to pro-life Canadians? Because we are inextricably tied to the US through proximity, trade and culture. What happens in one country impacts social trends in the other. Both countries have out-of-control socialist leadership and both urgently need a return to traditional moral values to avoid bankruptcy and chaos.

It appears likely that Republicans will regain control of the House—once the ballots are all counted—but not with the huge majority they expected. The final outcome in the Senate may not be known for a month. Those who have been watching the Biden administration for the past two years and have seen the levels of corruption, incompetence and malicious abuse of office, had hoped to see the leftist power brokers dealt a serious rebuke by voters. The response on voting day was, at best, tepid.

The level of bad policies coming from the White House and the Democrat Congress has been astounding. The haughty tone and language with which the President and his colleagues have addressed issues raised by social conservatives has been chilling and divisive. Their savage attacks have, of course, been echoed by mainstream media. Much like our own Prime Minister, leftist Democrats have launched all-out war against pro-lifers, traditional marriage supporters and anyone daring to question the LGBTQ agenda being forced on young schoolchildren. Governor Ron DeSantis—the big winner on Tuesday night—addressed this in his ebullient acceptance speech. He declared that he and his team in Florida will continue to fight woke ideology every step of the way. He said they’ll fight it in the schools; they’ll fight it in the legislature; they’ll fight it in the media; and they will never give in to the woke socialist agenda.

Even where Republicans did win seats—whether in the House or Senate—many of those election night results were much closer than anyone expected. Leftist talking heads have tried to assign blame to Donald Trump for Republican losses where they occurred and for lower margins of victory in the tighter races that should have been easy. Some pointed to the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court as the issue that brought leftist voters to the polls. It’s true that the overturning of Roe motivated some radical pro-abortion voters to vote for Democratic candidates in spite of the failed economy and rising crime rates. Several states included a ballot question on the issue of abortion; sadly, a majority of voters in those states called for increased access to abortion or protection of it as an institution. Like our own country, the US is divided on this and other important issues.

It saddens me greatly to think that zealous activism in favour of abortion could be a such a motivator on election day. Looking at the big picture—the fact that all Americans are paying more for gas, more for heating and more for food—it astounds me that an issue like abortion could blind voters to the follies and disasters of the Biden administration. As we know, the US-Mexico border is a mess, the drug cartels and human smuggling operations are having a heyday, and Americans are dying as a result. Crime is up across the country; the big cities controlled by Democrats are hardest hit, yet many voters in those cities continue to vote for the very politicians who allowed the criminal element to flourish.

Another thing that amazes me is that, even now, the electronic voting machines, that were supposed to make counting ballots so much easier, have been unable to produce a definitive result. I’m thankful that in Canada we still use paper ballots. In Georgia, a runoff election will be held to determine whether Raphael Warnock or Herschel Walker will hold a seat in the US Senate.

What lessons can we learn in Canada from this high-profile contest south of the border?

Firstly, that life is full of disappointments. Secondly, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Thirdly, that voters are human beings, subject to human frailty and their own perceived best interests. Fourthly, that voters can be—and are—manipulated by money, by media and by the ghosts of their own past choices. Fifthly, that it takes a lot of energy, a lot of money, and a lot of perseverance to achieve political success; but even when those elements are present, circumstances and timing, personality and character, predisposition and education may sway voters and tip the balance for good or evil. That doesn’t mean we should be discouraged; it means we should be clear-eyed, committed and rooted in faith. The duty is ours; the results are in God’s hands.

In Canada, with our first-past-the-post system, with multiple parties on the ballot, with mainstream media bought and paid for by an entrenched, all-powerful cabal, with young, first-time voters having undergone 12 years or more of politically correct indoctrination in the public school systems, it should come as no surprise that winning seats and forming governments are daunting tasks and difficult to achieve. If winning were everything we might have reason to be discouraged. But because following one’s conscience, presenting truth to the public and displaying courage and trust in God regardless of the outcome, are goals that far outweigh even the value of an election win . . . we can and we will press on to represent kingdom values in the midst of a “crooked and perverse generation” among whom God says we shine “as lights in the world.” Phil. 2:15

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