Admitting Defeat Is Crucial for the Future of Democracy

Coming into the 2024 presidential election, an overwhelming majority of Americans agreed that “democracy is on the ballot” this cycle. Though they disagreed on who represented that threat—with voters from each party blaming their opponents for violating democratic norms—Americans largely concurred that only by selecting the appropriate candidate would our nation persist as a constitutional republic.

But the idea that the winner will determine whether self-government endures has it exactly backward. The perseverance of democracy is in the hands of the losers.

As explored in a 2021 R Street policy study on the topic, winners in a democracy have strong motivations to hold up their electoral victory as legitimate. After all, they will be the ones controlling the levers of power, and their supporters can feel a sense of belonging in the winning coalition. It is the losers—who must yield power—who have incentives to undermine the system and sow the kind of disorder that can topple a democracy.

That losers acknowledge defeat at all is nothing short of astounding. As expressed in the R Street study, losing candidates and their supporters must “value the institution of government more than they value control of the government.” Unfortunately, with public trust in institutions on a decades-long decline, each election cycle appears to bring American democracy closer and closer to the breaking point.

But there is a path forward to a more stable democracy.

At a policy level, reduced partisan influence and increased transparency in election administration can help, as can reforms that help drive candidates toward broadly popular platforms. In the short term, though, the American public must demand more virtuous behavior from its candidates—namely, public concession.

After the votes are tallied and legal objections resolved, losing candidates must publicly recognize the defeat and express to their voters that there will be future elections and future opportunities to attain power. And any candidate—particularly a major candidate seeking an office like president or governor—who does not concede must be held accountable by their voters.

To be clear, this accountability must come from within. Given the intense polarization of our politics and a phenomenon known as “negative partisanship,” attacks from political opponents can actually increase loyalty toward otherwise indefensible positions or unlikeable allies. While winners can help create a culture that makes it easier for the losers to concede (“sore winners beget sore losers,” after all), the health of our republic depends upon the losing coalition demanding that its leaders commit to the democratic process.

So as the 2024 election cycle comes to an end, each of us has a part to play in protecting our republic. For Americans elated or relieved with the outcome, demonstrate graciousness to your neighbors, family, and even strangers online who are disappointed. And for those who wished things had turned out differently, acknowledge your opponents’ victory and demand your candidates do so as well.

Our country has persisted through periods of overwhelming strife and division in the past and can do so once again, so long as we all remain committed to the American experiment—even in defeat.