Believe it or not, it's already been nearly three weeks since the 2024 elections. Somehow a campaign season the couldn't end soon enough suddenly feels like a lifetime ago as we try to tuck away the painful memories of 12,000 political text messages per day. (Even as a political junkie, I'm tempted to fully shift my thinking towards the holidays and much-needed time with family.)

But before we put a bow on 2024, we must be sure we fully process what the election results mean for the future of the country and for the future of Arkansas. Because without a doubt, the people delivered a mandate for conservatism and a clear rejection of big government collectivism.

Consider first the landslide election of Donald J. Trump. Love him or hate him, his second term priorities are no secret and can essentially be summarized as this: less government.

Consistent with his "free-spirited" style, he didn't mince words about what this would mean: getting government off the backs of job creators.

Reducing federal spending by slashing the size of the federal workforce. Eliminating some unnecessary federal agencies. And ultimately, reducing the size and scope of the Nanny State.

It was a stark contrast with his opponent, and Americans spoke loudly in favor of the Trump plan.

Here in Arkansas, the message was the same. Nearly two out of the three Arkansas voters cast their ballot for Donald Trump, while also sending their local conservative legislators back to the state Capitol—and this after two years of historic, unprecedented conservative progress on education freedom, massive income tax reduction, criminal justice reform, and more.

All of these policy wins, by the way, was supposed to mean electoral calamity for conservatives, as the left has assured us for two years the Arkansans were clamoring to "throw the bums out!"

But the liberal canaries were very wrong, yet again.

If you need more evidence, just look at House District 78, a race that local Democrats appeared to think was winnable. The House sponsor of the LEARNS Act, Rep. Keith Brooks, was challenged by the left-winger who made all of the aforementioned conservative victories and issue in the race.

But Brooks won by a larger margin than Donald Trump won Arkansas, getting more than 67 percent of the vote. (Not bad for a guy who supposedly destroyed public education.)

What does it all mean going forward?

The overwhelming success of conservatism on the ballot a resounding endorsement of the last two years. Arkansans clearly like what they're getting from state leaders and that's why they are returning a conservative supermajority back to the state House and Senate.

The election results also indicate the people of Arkansas want state policymakers to keep going—and to turn up the gas. Because they support the Trump agenda, and his landslide victory is a clear conservative mandate.

It's a mandate to continue the fight for education freedom and to resist any efforts to limit or regulate the program. To continue fully phasing out the income tax (and we are almost halfway there). To reduce the harmful effects of inflation by eliminating the grocery tax. To get serious about spending restraint and right-sizing the state workforce.

And yes, to fix our broken welfare programs (especially Medicaid) that trap our neighbors in lives of dependency and despair.

If we listen to voters and keep the momentum going, Arkansas will be a national leader and a partner for President-elect Trump.

Our legislative session will be here soon, and when legislators arrive, the hallways will be lined with special-interest lobbyists with their hands out. Their willing accomplices on the left will warn of all the backlash that will certainly come to bear if legislators dare keep their word and govern conservatively.

But we've already seen what happens when policymakers deliver real change, because after two years of the most conservative progress in state history—and two years of forecasted apocalyptic backlash as a result—there was none. And there won't be, so long as conservatives continue to listen to the people and deliver results.

We can all be glad that the 2024 election is finally behind us, but we shouldn't rush past what it taught us. After decades of heading in the wrong direction, our state is finally correcting course and Arkansans like it.

Now, for the next generation, we must keep going.

The article was published by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette on November 24, 2024. You can find it here.