(The Lion) — Conservatives must get out and vote big in the 2026 midterm elections, says Ned Ryun, leader of American Majority and author of the book American Leviathan.

If they don’t, Democrats will likely win the House and immediately move to impeach President Donald Trump, possibly quashing the “America First” movement the president represents.

In an interview with The Lion’s Chris Stigall at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, Ryun also shared insights on the administrative state and the lessons Trump took to the White House in his second term.

One lesson from the 2020 and 2022 elections: Republicans must focus on the fundamentals of voter registration and absentee ballot generation, Ryun said.

He cited the Florida GOP’s success in committing significant resources – $10 to $12 million annually – to these efforts, which have yielded strong results for the party, which now dominates Florida.

By contrast, in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race last week, Republicans were “asleep at the wheel,” Ryun said, as with many spring elections after a decisive Trump victory in November, while Democrats understood “they needed to change the narrative” after getting thumped.

Stigall asked Ryun how the GOP, which is generally for smaller government, can beat those radical people who think every day about what to do with government power.

Ryun said the progressive left are “religious zealots” who view politics as their religion and the administrative state as their “holy of holies.”

“You’re either going to do politics or politics will do you,” Ryun warned. “So, we need to figure out how we meet their zealotry with our passion and control the levers of government to make sure the right things are being done. Because if we’re not, they will be in charge.”

However, the GOP holds a “very slim majority,” and some congressional Republicans are using the slim majority to “rock the boat” and project their own self-interest, he said.

That time, noted Ryun, would be better spent figuring out how to rein in the courts and how to make history by bucking historic norms and expanding the GOP majority in the 2026 midterms rather than losing seats, as the party in power typically does.

One way to do it is by voting GOP, even if the leaders aren’t always “rock stars.”

“We better figure out how we defy historical trends in the midterms in ‘26 and maybe add a few seats to our majority, because if not, we’re going to be dealing with this for four years,” said Ryun.

By “this” he didn’t just mean the loss of a Republican majority and the threat to the America First agenda that the loss would represent.

Instead, Ryun meant the big “this”: impeachment of President Trump by Democrats in the U.S. House.

“So, if you don’t want Trump impeached after the ‘26 midterms, because Dems will have taken the majority, you need to get out and vote for your [U.S.] House member,” he added.

Ryun said those leaders may not be conservative rock stars, “but if they can keep Republicans in the majority in the House, it’s going to help Trump advance his agenda.”

Finally, Ryun addressed the challenge of mobilizing voters to support other Republican candidates, noting that the GOP has to learn to do “industrial-level absentee ballot generation among the mid-to-low prop[ensity] and the Trump-only voters.”

“This isn’t just about Trump,” Ryun concluded. “Trump is the first iteration of America First, but for it to be a long-term successful movement, you’re going to have to show up for other Republicans not named Trump.”