The votes have been counted and the dust (and the mud) have settled.  Here is a Cyclops view of the 2022 election:

            NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNING WORKS – We particularly saw it in the Mike Lee-Evan McMullin race for the U.S. Senate.  As much as people claim they hate negative ads, politicians and the lobbyists understand their power.  Prior to the out-of-state produced and funded smear campaign against McMullin, the race appeared to be competitive. The outrageous commercials (calling McMullin a socialist in bed with Nancy Pelosi is as silly as saying Bob Dylan is an opera singer) were misleading, but effective.  There was mudslinging on both sides. McMullin’s late ads claiming Lee wanted to ditch Social Security stretched the truth too, but on the whole, his campaign was more truthful than Lee’s.

            DEMOCRATS HAVE DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING VOTER TRIGGER POINTS – Political analysts have long noted that Republicans generally campaign on fear while Democrats focus on hope. Sorry Democrats, but fear usually trumps optimism. Democrats might claim that inflation was easing and that gas prices are cyclical and not at an all-time high. They were technically correct when factoring for inflation, but motorists drove by a service station daily and figured the Democrats were either lying or out of touch. The 2022 trigger points were egg prices and a trumped-up fear that border crossings were dominated by criminals packing fentanyl, whereas the Democrats foolishly thought the trigger point was the threat to democracy posed by the Jan. 6 invasion.

            DEMOCRATS CANNOT WIN STATEWIDE UTAH RACES – Unless an LDS Church authority runs on the Democrat ticket, the Party could be 50 years away from winning a statewide race, and gerrymandering has made it improbable that a Democrat can win a U.S. House district. The lone Democrat stronghold is Salt Lake County and its city-based voters. Even with lackluster, under-funded campaigns this year, the Democrats beat the GOP by 8,000 votes.

            TRUMP DAMAGED THE REPUBLICAN PARTY – No matter how much lipstick Trump tries to put on the pig, his support of extremist candidates cost Republicans the Senate majority they should have easily won. (In one case, a House race, Trump endorsed an idiot who said women should not have been given the vote!) Trump’s lack of credibility only energizes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the obvious 2024 frontrunner. DeSantis is a culture warrior who, like Trump will say anything to get elected, but DeSantis is a more intelligent version of Trumpism.

            UTAHNS WILL VOTE AGAINST ANYTHING THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND – Legislative leaders didn’t explain why Constitutional Amendment A was good policy.

            UTAH WILL BE AN OUTLIER IN MARIJUANA LEGISLATION – With Maryland and Missouri on board, recreational marijuana is now legal in 21 states representing more than 60% of Americans, and it appears three more states (Minnesota, Ohio, and Hawaii) may legalize it soon. Just as in the case of legalized gaming/lotteries, Utah will resist national trends – and I think a majority of Utahns will applaud being different.

            REPUBLICANS ARE GAINING AND LOSING VOTERS – The GOP nationally is attracting a growing number of Latino and Black voters, especially males.  However, suburban white women, many angered by recent abortion restrictions, are leaning toward Democrat candidates, canceling out the Republican gains.

            BEST NEWS FOR DEMOCRATS – Nancy Pelosi is stepping down from U.S. House leadership, taking away the Republicans’ most effective target.