This Morning Wire episode looks at the aftermath of a midterm election in which Democrats posted sweeping gains, including in Texas. Ben Shapiro, interviewed in studio, argues that Democrats will overreach with a sweeping agenda and that Republicans lost because of unaffordability, chaos and corruption, and he weighs in on the emerging 2028 presidential field.
The hosts then review conservative ballot measures that passed even in blue states, covering voter ID, tax limits and sports rules. The episode closes with a Supreme Court case on whether Colorado can exclude religious schools from its universal preschool program, with Alliance Defending Freedom's Jim Campbell explaining the arguments and what is at stake.
In this episode Georgia Howe, Ben Shapiro, Cabot Phillips, Jim Campbell
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As the dust settles from the historic WAVE election, the fallout already is beginning to impact Texas, the GOP, and the 2028 presidential landscape.
We talked to Ben Shapiro about what comes next.
So I think Democrats will overshoot the mark. I think they will take this as a mandate to do every crazy thing they ever wanted to do.
I'm Georgia Howe with "Daily Wire" executive editor John Bickley. It's Thursday, November 5, and this is "Morning Wire."
While Democrats enjoyed sweeping gains on Tuesday, several conservative amendments were also big winners, including even in deep blue states.
And the Supreme Court signals it may side with religious schools who say state laws discriminate against them.
Colorado has already lost three First Amendment cases before the Supreme Court, and I think the Court is just building on that precedent here. Thanks for waking up with "Morning Wire." Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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Joining us now in studio is Ben Shapiro, "Daily Wire" host and editor emeritus. Great to have you in.
Hey. Good to see you guys.
So, a hard couple of days for Republicans.
Yeah, it sucks. That's what we've had. Yeah.
We wanted to ask first about Texas. I mean, the fallout from what happened in Texas is starting to be understood at this point. How big a deal is Democrats turning Texas blue?
It's a very big deal. I mean, it's a very big deal for a couple of reasons. One, when you have a sort of moribund state party, and then suddenly you're in the governorship and you have a Senate seat, that all kicks right into gear. And already you've seen extraordinary amounts of money that have poured into Texas to follow the Democrats there. Now you're going to see just a flood of Democrat cash go in there. The other thing is that the Hispanic vote in Texas, which is an increasing percentage of the vote in Texas, is moving very steadily in a Republican direction in prior elections, and it has moved totally opposite here. You've seen a massive shift away from the Republicans in Texas among Hispanics.
That is completely a reflection of dyspepsia with the Trump administration, and obviously the Paxton campaign and the Abbott campaign really paid the price.
Now, you've made the argument that both parties have misinterpreted these results and they're going to continue down the same problematic paths. What mistakes do you think Democrats are going to make, and what mistakes do you think Republicans are going to make?
So I think Democrats will overshoot the mark. I think they will take this as a mandate to do every crazy thing they ever wanted to do, because both parties have a tendency to do that. You win an election and then you think, "I can do whatever I want." And I think Trump did that in 2024, and it didn't end well for him in 2026. I think Democrats are likely to do the same thing. They'll push forward some sort of bill for Medicare for All. They will push to defund ICE. They'll push to defund DHS. I think all of that will backlash on them. I do not think that that is a good idea. The mistake that Republicans, I think, could make here is to essentially say that this is a one-issue election, that we don't have a deeper problem.
We actually, if we just fix this one thing, then everything goes away. Obviously, the one that people are focusing in right now is the Iran war, because that would be the easiest to just end, obviously. And that gives Republicans, I think, a sort of false comfort in the idea that, okay, well, if we just turn that off, then everything else will be hunky-dory from here on. And there's a much deeper and much more abiding problem for Republicans than just that. And the way I summed it up on my show today is I said that the Republicans lost because of basically three things in combination: unaffordability, chaos, and corruption. That's what this election was about. It was those three things.
And you put those three things together and you end up with a complete bloodbath. As you say, if it were just unaffordability, Republicans would have lost. But if it's unaffordability, a feeling of chaos and the corruption, you layer all those things in altogether, and what you end up with is a blue tsunami.
Finally, we're already, you know, starting to look ahead to 2028, and we are seeing some buzz. You know, this has been building for a while, but it's kind of dramatic how much you're seeing people kind of plant flags already. Where do you see this going? Is Vance a shoo-in or not? Is Rubio going to run? What are the signs so far?
I think it's very unlikely that Marco Rubio runs. He's a very risk-averse politician, and the math really doesn't game for him. Meaning that if he were to run, number one, we should say that whatever happens among the Republican candidates, 2028 is obviously an uphill battle for Republicans now. The president has a low approval rating. We are now looking at a map in which a bunch of red states are turning purply. And you're talking here about Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, maybe Texas, right? I mean, you're talking on the outside at a map in which Democrats have a shot at 380-plus electoral votes.
I mean, that map is not an impossible vote. And so if you're a Republican, you're looking at that going, do I really want to even, like, go into this? If you're JD Vance, that thought might occur to you, but you're vice president and you're basically the anointed one. And so you don't have a choice but to sort of throw your hat in the ring, I think. That's not true for Rubio, who could simply wait it out, wait till next time. He's still a relatively young guy. I think you'll see some other folks, like I think Ron DeSantis will throw his hat into the ring.
Ted Cruz.
I don't think anything Ted Cruz will certainly run. I don't think any of that is a foregone conclusion. I'm not sure it's a foregone conclusion that Vance wins the nominee. He's obviously the favorite coming out of the box, but there are a lot of steps between here and there.
Yeah, indeed. Ben, thanks so much for taking the time.
Thanks so much.
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Republican candidates took heavy losses across the board on Tuesday, but several conservative ballot measures had a much better night, even in states that elected Democrats.
Here with more is "Wired In" host Cabot Phillips. So, Cabot, obviously a brutal night for Republicans, but the ballot measures were actually a more nuanced picture. Tell us about some of those.
Yeah. For any Republicans out there looking for some bright spots, there were a number of ballot measures that did provide those bright spots for Republicans. Voters in some of these purple states, like North Carolina and Ohio, emphatically rejected their state's Republican ticket, but then voted to approve Republican priorities through ballot measures, particularly on election security. In Ohio, a state that just elected Sherrod Brown to the Senate and then Amy Acton to the governor's mansion, both Democrats by large margins, two-thirds of those same voters actually approved issue three. That was a ballot initiative that writes a photo ID requirement into the state's constitution for voting.
That means that regardless of their success tonight, Democrats cannot touch it without a three-fifths majority in the state legislature, and then it would just go back to voters. North Carolina was an even worse bloodbath than Ohio for Republicans. We saw Roy Cooper, who's going to win the state's open Senate seat there, by about 20 points. Democrats also likely to flip at least six House districts there, thanks to riding his coattails. But voters still went and approved a ballot measure that would expand voter ID to every form of voting, including mail ballots, with about 60% of the vote on that initiative.
And they also voted to cut the state's cap on income tax in half, from 7% to 3.5%. And then you have Kansas. They approved a citizens-only voting amendment, 64 to 36%, while simultaneously voting to unseat Republican Senator Roger Marshall. Voters in Arkansas, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Alaska all passed similar election integrity measures. So that's eight states right there that approved significant election integrity measures, again, which have been a key Republican issue, not popular among Democrats, you would think, but they were voted for last night.
Now, we also had some ballot measures related to trans issues in blue states and purple states. How did they fare?
Yeah, more good news for the GOP on this front. They've made trans issues and protecting women's sports and women's spaces a huge issue, and voters rewarded them here. The biggest story comes out of the state of Washington, where ballot initiative 638 would keep biological males out of K through 12 sports. It's currently leading 57 to 43, with about 60% of the vote counted. In Washington, it's still early, but this would be just a historic result in a deep blue state. It would be the first time that voters anywhere approved a sweeping statewide law separating boys and girls, K through 12.
Every other state with a law like this on the books has had it passed through a state legislature in states that Trump won. But it could very well happen for the first time in one of the most liberal states in the country where voters push it through. Arizona and Nebraska's versions of this similar measure are also going to pass with overwhelming support, and Colorado looks like it'll narrowly pass as well. Colorado also has another ballot measure banning trans surgeries on minors that is slightly lagging behind its companion measure, but prediction markets are still pricing it at a 90% chance to pass with 80% of the vote in. So again, Colorado, Washington, not red states passing, you know, pro-traditional gender initiatives here.
So it sounds like voters are pretty decisively against this trans stuff, and that's now been shown. Any other measures across the country that stand out to you?
Yeah, one comes down in Florida. That's probably the only competitive state where you can honestly say Republicans mostly held their ground in statewide elections. Governor Ron DeSantis there has credited a lot of these ballot measures that he's been pushing for months to get Republican voters to the polls. The state just passed one of the largest property tax cuts in history, with 62% of the vote clearing Florida's 60% threshold to seal the measure into law. That law will raise the homestead exemption on property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and then a quarter million dollars in 2028.
And then here in our home state of Tennessee, voters also passed a ballot measure banning the legislature from imposing a property tax in the future. And Idaho voters rejected an effort to overturn the state's abortion ban. In Idaho, they also had a measure to select the state's official gun. And there are still a few big ones that are up in the air. Another Colorado amendment that would scrap the state's flat tax in favor of a California-style bracket system is ahead by one point, with votes still being counted. The state's Democratic governor opposed it, and there's still about 20% of the vote left to be counted there. And then finally, in California, the controversial billionaire tax, Prop 40, is actually down, 56 to 44, with about 60% of the vote counted.
That is a big one that had a lot of business owners watching very closely. And then let's throw one more in, Alaska. Voters there are once again voting on potentially repealing their controversial ranked choice voting system, which caused a lot of problems with the decoy Dan Sullivan on the ballot this year. But that attempt to repeal that system is trailing 52 to 48, with 73% of the vote in.
Well, always fascinating to see what voters think when they vote directly on issues. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
Absolutely.
The Supreme Court heard arguments this week on a case that could set a precedent on states blocking funding for religious schools.
This case, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, challenges Colorado's exclusion of religious schools from its universal preschool program. Here to discuss is Jim Campbell, chief legal counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, which has filed amicus briefs on behalf of a Christian academy. So first, Jim, can you give us a brief synopsis of this case and what's at stake?
Yeah, this is a really important religious liberty case before the Supreme Court this term. This case is all about whether the government can create a program and say that it's providing funding for private education, but refuse to give it to religious schools. And so over the last three years, the Supreme Court has decided lots of cases like these, and it keeps saying over and over again that you can't exclude the religious groups and the religious schools and the religious families when you create programs like this. But what Colorado is trying to do with its universal preschool program is trying to come up with a new way of excluding the religious organizations.
And so the Supreme Court has to decide, is it going to allow Colorado to do that, or is it going to hold Colorado to what it said in these last decisions and require that these programs be open to people of faith?
So the court heard the arguments on Tuesday, Election Day no less. What are your strongest takeaways from oral arguments?
I thought the arguments went really well for the religious group and the religious families that brought the lawsuit. Justice Kavanaugh raised the number of concerns that he had. He specifically said that it really looked like the state of Colorado was not treating religious organizations the same because it was excluding them according to its desire to operate consistent with their beliefs. And Justice Gorsuch also raised a lot of concerns. He specifically said, "Haven't we decided cases like this in the past?
And isn't Colorado trying to get around what we've said?" And so I do think that the defenders of religious liberty had a great day in court.
Now, this relates, and you kind of alluded to this, to the other Colorado cases that we've heard about in the news for years now. For example, the masterpiece cake shop case also in Colorado. You helped litigate that. Are there overlap arguments between that case and this one and some precedents that could come into play?
Definitely. Colorado has proven itself to be no respecter of the First Amendment. Over the course of the last 10 years, Colorado has already lost three First Amendment cases before the Supreme Court, and all three of those cases were litigated by us at Alliance Defending Freedom. And I think the court is just building on that precedent here. And the court has recognized that the state of Colorado has hostility toward.
Almost left. I hope. Free in almost two hours. And.
Be handed a loss before the High Court.
Now, what was the state's argument for why they shouldn't give money to these schools?
So the state created what they call these non-discrimination requirements, and it said that they require the schools to sign off on these various requirements in order to participate in the program. But the problem is that the state allows exemptions from those requirements for a lot of secular groups, but it's not allowing those exemptions for religious groups. And so, again, it's treating religion worse than other groups, and the First Amendment does not allow that.
Well, potentially a huge case for education that we'll hear the results from this spring. Jim, thanks for coming on.
Thanks so much for having me.
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Article 58, counterrevolutionary activity.
That is all I know.
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There are no answers here other than the ones they put in your mouth.
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Still a drunk.
Damn you.
They'll break.
Maybe.
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As the dust settles from the historic wave election – the fallout already begins to impact Texas, the GOP, and the 2028 Presidential buzz, meanwhile several conservative policies were also big winners – even in deep Blue States, and the Supreme Court signals that it may side with religious schools who say state laws discriminate against them. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.- - -Ep. 3180- - -Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3- - -Today's Sponsors:Lean - LEAN is a doctor-developed, non-prescription weight-loss supplement designed to support weight loss in three ways: helping convert stored fat into energy, helping maintain healthy blood sugar, and helping manage appetite and that constant food noise that can make staying on track so difficult. Go to HTTPS://TAKELEAN.COM and use code WIRE for 20% off.BAERSkin Tactical Supply Co. - Right now, buy any 2 BÆRSkin Hoodies and get the Rain Jacket thrown in for free. Text WIRE to 36912 and BÆRSkin will send you a link directly. If you’re on the move, they’ll hold that deal so it’s there when you’re ready.ZipRecruiter - Save time and meet great candidates sooner. Try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE at https://ziprecruiter.com/WIRE. 4 out of 5 employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. - - -Privacy Policy: https://www.dailywire.com/privacymorning wire,morning wire podcast,the morning wire podcast,Georgia Howe,John Bickley,daily wire podcast,podcast,news podcast
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