An old dog may not be able to learn new tricks, but The Grand Old Party can:.

Or maybe he’s finally remembered a long-forgotten truth: Normal Republicans win elections.

Back-to-back losses to Barack Obama — followed by Donald Trump’s upset victory over Hillary Clinton — had a bit of a destabilizing effect on the GOP.

Details like that Obama and Trump had unique political talents and that Clinton was a unique man did not seem to matter to Republicans.

Instead, primary voters appeared to conclude that the path to victory would require the most bombastic, controversial candidates the party could find.

This election theory died a painful death in 2022, the year of the widely anticipated red wave by most observers. barely reached a ripple.

Despite President Biden’s unpopularity, Republicans floundered.

They nearly lost two winnable gubernatorial races, barely managed to take back the House of Representatives, and actually did manage to pull it off. to lose He took part in the Senate.

From where? Because many of its highest-profile candidates have seemed more like caricatures than the kind of well-rounded people voters might imagine over beers with.

Passion is attractive, but monomania is not.

Pennsylvania’s GOP gubernatorial candidate, Doug Mastriano, was at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.

If Mastriano’s counterpart in Arizona, Kari Lake, had any remorse for what happened that day, it didn’t seem like it was there.

Mehmet Oz and Blake Masters, the unrelated U.S. Senate candidates who accompanied them on the ballot, were hand-picked by Trump and billionaire Peter Thiel not for political competence but for trivial personal reasons.

Don Bolduc of New Hampshire repeated stolen election conspiracy theories to win his primary, then blamed the same accusations for his general election loss.

And legendary Georgia football star Herschel Walker couldn’t escape a past that was the dream of opposition investigators.

The result: One of the most disappointing midterm performances by an opposition party in recent memory.

An event with very serious consequences. ultra-thin GOP House majority He upended the Republicans’ legislative agenda by allowing small groups to crown two embarrassing misadventures as one speaker.

And in the Senate, Chuck Schumer has successfully weathered even the most extreme of Biden’s judicial nominees.

But the pain of defeat helped Republicans learn a valuable lesson.

This time they didn’t want to be left with the same regrets.

While the fight for the House of Representatives is still contentious, Republicans are poised to finally take back the upper chamber, largely because their candidates are of much better caliber.

This year’s crop is presented as a collection of citizens looking to serve their country, rather than political obsessives grinding niche axes.

Think about the neighbor who shoveled your sidewalk or mowed your lawn while you were on vacation, not the person who drags you into uncomfortable conversations.

Deep red Montana may finally be rid of Democratic Sen. John Tester, thanks to Trump’s decision to crush the candidacy of proven loser Matt Rosendale in its cradle and I support Tim Sheehy.

The Pennsylvanians also corrected their mistakes from last time and Nominated Dave McCormick to challenge long-time incumbent Senator Bob Casey.

Both Sheehy and McCormick have served their country in uniform, enjoyed successful careers in business, and campaign on issues that directly impact voters.

In Michigan and Wisconsin, Mike Rogers and Eric Hovde are also going after their opponents with robust, localized campaigns.

In fact, GOP candidates in the Rust Belt are doing so well that every single one of their Democratic rivals has felt it. I had to advertise He touts his strong relations with Trump.

Larry Hogan of Maryland is not a conservative, but he is exactly the kind of Republican — in fact, perhaps the only one — who can win in such a blue state.

Similarly, New Hampshire gubernatorial candidate Kelly Ayotte has already demonstrated the ability to win statewide.

And in Ohio and Nevada, Republicans Bernie Moreno and Sam Brown are running competitive races once thought hopeless against established Democrats.

Even if they don’t ultimately prevail, they will force Democrats to use valuable defensive resources in places they never expected to need them.

Of course, there are still some inconveniences:

Lake is on the ballot again in Arizona, this time for U.S. Senate and North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Sign Robinson treated us It must have been the nation’s first “Black Nazi” porn scandal. (Robinson denies the allegations.)

But overall, primary voters and Trump chose wisely this cycle, and as a result, they came out on top.

Regardless of the results, Republicans would be wise to apply the same logic to future contests.

They don’t need to nominate the establishment’s underdogs or Trump’s critics.

But they must reject the fraudsters and sycophants who can only offer them lies and defeat.

Isaac Schorr is a staff writer at Mediaite.