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The midterm elections did not go as well for Republicans as many expected. The national electorate widely rejected GOP candidates (like Kari Lake, Doug Mastriano, etc.) who made loyalty to former President Trump a central theme of their candidacies.

Meanwhile, other Republicans who focused more on policy and less on Trump (such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp) largely won their elections.

Kemp truly faced the fury of Trump, with the former president putting up former Sen. David Perdue to primary Kemp. This was Trump's means of enacting revenge against Kemp for the latter's failure to break the law by simply handing Trump new electoral votes in the 2020 election.

Nevertheless, the victories of DeSantis and Kemp show that when Republicans are focused on policy over Trump idolatry, they stand a much better chance of winning.

Unfortunately, loser GOP candidates like Kari Lake and Donald Trump insist on pushing false claims of election fraud. These claims are ripping the GOP to shreds.

They're going to be the death of the Republican Party if the party doesn't kick them to the curb once and for all.

The facts about so-called election fraud

When Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, he and his attorneys made all sorts of wild-eyed allegations of voter fraud. Yet, when they brought these claims before the courts, each and every judge tossed them out.

This includes Republican judges whom Trump himself appointed.

Now, in Arizona, a 2.0 version of this is playing out. Kari Lake, without evidence, is screaming that the state's gubernatorial election was rigged and stolen from her.

The reality is that Lake lost by roughly 17,000 votes in a state where voter registration numbers are virtually tied between Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.

Like Trump, Lake would rather falsely claim the race was rigged than acknowledge the shortcomings of her own candidacy.

Following Trump's false claims of a rigged election, 250K Georgia Republicans who voted in 2020 sat out the 2021 runoff. This subsequently cost the GOP two Senate seats and handed Democrats a Senate majority.

That is a majority that Democrats will now maintain for another two years. This go-around, it's thanks to Trump's handpicked endorsees losing their elections to Democrats across the country.

"If we win, it's secure; if we lose, it's rigged"

There is absolutely no evidence that any of Trump's failed endorsees were cheated. Just as Republicans like DeSantis and Kemp won fair and square, Republicans like Lake and Mastriano lost fair and square.

These losses should be a wake-up call for the Republican Party. Nominating candidates who can win a general election, rather than just lick Trump's boots, should be the party's priority.

If the GOP continues to nominate candidates who Trump likes, yet the national electorate loathes, the party will continue losing.

If these losses aren't reflected upon and simply get chalked up to "voter fraud," a vicious cycle will emerge. Each and every time, the end result of this cycle will be Democrats taking home the wins.

At this point, the Republican Party must decide if allegiance to Trump is more important than actually winning elections.