What Happens When Your Candidate Loses?

By now, you more than likely have filled in your ballot for the 2026 midterm 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 associations 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 Barack 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 president's 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: Barack Obama.

It's 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 Trump's 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 résumé 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 governor's 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 everyday 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.