What Happens When Your Candidate Loses?

By now, you more than likely have filled in your ballot for the 2026 mid term election cycle. In some states, the vote cast may be for Governor, House Representative, or Senator. You might cast your vote for a tax initiative or a judge.

All over America, when we turn on our televisions, we see one political ad after another. Conservative candidates and liberal politicians battle it out on the airwaves. One political mud slinging ad after another. Each candidate attacking the other. Hoping that their bullying antics are stronger than their opponents.

But amid all the accusations, endorsements and promises, there is one question neither campaign is asking you: What happens if your candidate loses?

Accusations that tear their opponents down, and assimilations with the higher-ups in town.

On the liberal side of the Colorado ballot, the governor has called in the big guns in former President, Barrack Obama. While the conservative candidate, did not earn the MAGA support of President Donald Trump.

With claims of this being proof that he’s, not a politician, Victor Marx posted on X today that the lack of the Republican Presidents lack of support makes it clear that he is truly an outsider.

With only about 3 weeks left in the race, the democrat candidate, Phil Weiser, turned to one of the biggest names in democratic politics: Barrack Obama.

Its no surprise that Weiser gained the public support of Obama, as he served in the Obama administration as a senior adviser on technology and innovation, and Obama previously endorsed Weiser when he ran for Colorado attorney general in 2018.

The big surprise though, is Trumps lack of public support for the Marx campaign, considering the fact that Colorado’s governor race has brought such stark contrast between the candidates.

Weiser, shifting gears from attorney general, to a gubernatorial race is a common practice, while Marx making the transition from high-risk humanitarian to political candidate is about as uncommon as finding a candidate whose resume includes more war zones than political campaigns.

In the blue corner is a man who has sued trump 87 times, and in the red corner, a man who claims 150 high-risk missions, with the governors race being dubbed mission 151.

Each candidate, a polar opposite, claims they are the answer for Colorado.

Marx has built his campaign around three words: affordability, security and accountability. Promising to make Colorado more affordable, restore public safety and hold state government accountable.”

Weiser has built his campaign around affordability, opportunity, and protecting Colorado. Promising to lower housing and healthcare costs, strengthen public education, grow the economy, and defend the state from federal overreach.

Both candidates, from the outside looking in appear to be running on the same platform of helping the every day Coloradan with affordability and safety.

One promises less local government, while the other promises less federal government.

To sum it up, on paper, without knowing the intricacies of Colorado politics, it would appear that either candidate is a reasonable choice.

But politics has a way of changing the conversation. When candidates are determined to win, the campaign trail quickly becomes a battlefield of accusations, promises, and competing claims. Each says they can do better. Each says they have the answers. Each asks us to believe that Colorado’s future depends on putting them in office.

But what if your candidate loses?

Weiser, having used Colorado tax payer money to sue trump 87 times, and Marx asking for $100,000 dollars to bring the campaign across the finish line while paying over $50,000 in fines for campaign finance violations, both leave plenty of room for voters to question what “affordability” actually means.

But eventually, the campaigning ends.

The signs come down. The commercials stop. The accusations grow quiet. The votes are counted.

And one side loses.

Then what?

What happens when the person you were convinced would destroy Colorado becomes your governor? What happens when the candidate you defended, donated to, campaigned for, argued with friends over, and perhaps even lost relationships over simply doesn’t win?

Do you spend the next four years angry?

Do you hope the winner fails just so you can say you were right?

Do you treat the people who voted differently as enemies?

Or do we finally remember something politics has increasingly caused us to forget:

Our candidate can lose without us losing our country, our state, our friendships, or our ability to work together.

I know, I know. If we don’t take Colorado back on the conservative side, then we may never have another chance.

But what if your candidate really does lose?

What if you were so convinced that your choice was the winner, that the idea of losing never crossed your mind.

My purpose here is not to endorse one candidate over another. Nor is it to suggest that the two candidates stand on equal ground when it comes to values. My goal is simply to give you an unbiased, bullet-point view of each and then ask a much bigger question.

I am a conservative through and through. I don’t shy away from that. I won’t support a candidate like Phil Weiser, whose position is to protect abortion rights.

But this isn’t really about Phil Weiser.

And it isn’t really about Victor Marx.

It’s about you.

What happens if your candidate loses?

Will you be in shock?

Will you still stand on the street corner holding the sign?

Will you still be as loud about your values when there is no candidate to rally behind?

Will you fight as hard for your convictions as you fought for a man?

I am not defined by a political party. I am not defined by the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or a box on a voter-registration form.

I am a man who believes that we have been endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

Those convictions don’t change on Election Day.

Solomon reminded us thousands of years ago that there is nothing new under the sun. Nations have endured good times and bad, prosperity and hardship, righteous leaders and corrupt ones. Political seasons change, but they are still only seasons.

And maybe that’s what we’ve forgotten.

We’ve become so accustomed to looking for someone to lead us that we’ve forgotten how to stand on our own two feet.

We look for a president to save America. A governor to save Colorado. A candidate to restore our values. A political party to fight our battles.

But what happens when they don’t?

What happens when your candidate loses, your party is outnumbered, and the person sitting behind the desk doesn’t share your convictions?

You stand anyway.

Your principles shouldn’t require permission from the governor’s office. Your values shouldn’t disappear because you lost an election. Your voice shouldn’t become silent because the person you voted for didn’t win.

If you believe in life, stand for life.

If you believe in liberty, defend liberty.

If you believe in truth, tell the truth.

If you believe government has gone too far, hold it accountable.

Not because a candidate told you to.

Because you believe it.

Perhaps we’ve spent too much time searching for leaders to save us and not enough time becoming the kind of people who don’t need saving by politicians.

So when the dust settles and the signs come down, don’t ask whether your candidate is still standing.

Ask whether you are.

About the Author

Michael Lavrenz is a writer, entrepreneur, podcaster, sales and business coach, and host of The Taproom Podcast. Through conversations about politics, faith, culture, business, and freedom, Michael challenges people to think for themselves, ask better questions, and live with greater purpose.

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