As GOP officials in Georgia can attest, however, Trump’s rants about a “rigged election” might have hurt them. Trump’s message likely suppressed GOP turnout in the 2020 U.S. Senate races and led to victories by Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael G. Warnock in a 2021 runoff. What many Republicans heard Trump say was, in effect, “Don’t bother voting. They won’t count your ballot.”

All the anti-democratic messaging by Trump and the GOP over the past 18 months might have persuaded many Republicans, in Georgia and elsewhere, that voting is a futile exercise.

I can’t prove Trump was responsible for the low turnout on Saturday in Baton Rouge, but I suspect the growing cynicism among Republicans about voting has unconsciously affected some Democrats, including me. After all, in this deep-red state, I rarely have the pleasure of voting for the winner. It often feels as though my vote doesn’t count.

Which makes Saturday’s election results even more satisfying. My wife and I not only voted for the winner, but our votes also decided the election. And, for as long as I’m able, I’ll never think again about passing up the chance to decide another election.