VICTOR JOECKS: Don’t flee Nevada. Stay and fight for freedom.

You can’t preserve liberty by abandoning the battleground where its future is being decided.

California’s terrible governance has driven millions of people out of the state. Many of those people settled in purple states, such as Nevada, or red states, such as Texas. But after the way Democrats romped into power last week, some conservatives might decide it’s time to leave Nevada. Even those in red states, such as Texas, may feel a similar impulse.

Tactical retreats have their place. Some states aren’t winnable in the foreseeable future. But conservatives can’t give up on purple and red states. They need to reclaim them. Here’s how.

First, every conservative needs to look at himself or herself. You can’t believe that government is the problem and wholly depend on elections and politicians to fix everything.

America’s greatness stems from her Christian roots. What made her a Christian country wasn’t merely her Constitution or even her leaders. It was her people. It was their Christian beliefs that led to the election of godly leaders who built the government on Christian principles.

Pray. Read the Bible and apply it to every area of your life, including politics. Confess sin. Go to church.

Next, think about why people grow more conservative as they age. It’s not about having more candles on the birthday cake. It’s about getting married, having children and owning a home. When you have a personal stake in the future, you think more about the long term. That tends to make people more conservative.

Think about what you can do to help the people around you get married, have another child and own a home. Praise a couple that has young kids, and ask when they’ll have more. As the Institute for Family Studies has found, “baby nudges” can boost fertility. If you have the means and a financially responsible child or grandchild who can’t afford a home, help them with a down payment.

These two steps may seem insignificant. But society and culture are the sum of millions of individual choices. Make yours count.

Finally, there is a need for larger-scale changes. The conservative movement needs to think about how to shape the playing field over the next decade, not just compete in the next election cycle.

Even if you don’t like it, universal mail ballots and ballot harvesting are legal in Nevada. Republicans need to embrace them, building a machine that churns out votes, regardless of who is running for office. Conservatives need to push voter registration and ballot collection at places where their likely voters already get together, such as gun shops and many churches.

Hispanic voters provide another opportunity. Hispanics aren’t automatic Republican voters, but they aren’t automatic Democrat voters either. Compared with how things looked a decade ago, that’s a major win. Conservatives need to identify Hispanic ZIP codes and precincts that voted most heavily for President Donald Trump. They need to pay political organizers to work continuously in those communities, not simply have campaign staff show up six weeks before an election.

Conservatives need to identify and groom young political talent that is willing to aggressively and appropriately use political power. One obvious need is to rebuke and reform government-funded institutions, like many colleges, that despise America, her history and her values. You shouldn’t receive funding from American taxpayers to teach students to hate America.

These changes will require leaders who can cast a vision. They also require donors who are willing to make long-term investments in creating infrastructure, not just backing individual candidates.

Conservatives shouldn’t abandon states such as Nevada, Texas and Kansas. It’s time to fight for them. As Patrick Henry once proclaimed, “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Contact him at [email protected] or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.