To the editor:

In “What I learned running as a moderate Republican,” Mike Warner’s reflections boil down to this: Affluent, privileged, liberal voters in Lawrence who elect Democrats to county offices don’t understand or care about the interests of small-business owners or working-class people, and generalizing this explains the national election results. Lawrence seems to “have transformed into an elite blue stronghold that caters to the affluent and well-educated.”

Mr. Warner learned the wrong lesson from his electoral loss for district attorney. Most of us don’t vote Democratic because it serves our personal interests or ensures a “privileged” lifestyle. We support Democrats because the party strives toward a society that is fair and just, where everyone is equal before the law and has opportunities to reach their potential.

Mr. Warner gives away the real reason for the election of Trump and a Republican Congress: the politics of resentment. They convinced a large fraction of those struggling economically that successful city-dwelling liberals, along with immigrants, are to blame for their problems. By providing scapegoats and feeding the politics of resentment, MAGA Republicans distracted enough voters from their real agenda (see Project 2025).

The politics of resentment also explains Mr. Warner’s lessons learned. He chooses to blame the “elites of Lawrence” for his electoral drubbing, instead of asking himself where he might have gone wrong in his campaign and whether there really can be such a thing as a moderate Republican in Trump’s America.

Michael Wolfe,

Lawrence