Democrats spent much of this year pouring attention and money into Kentucky, believing that Senator Mitch McConnell was vulnerable to defeat. That decision was almost certainly a strategic mistake — and not just in hindsight.

Mr. McConnell easily defeated Alison Lundergan Grimes, his Democratic challenger, on Tuesday, and ascended to Senate majority leader.

His victory was entirely foreseeable, and by showering so much attention on Kentucky, Democrats distracted themselves from races where they had better chances, including in Georgia, Colorado, Iowa and Alaska.

The thing to remember is that a McConnell defeat would have been all but unprecedented. Mr. McConnell is not only an incumbent senator who represents the party opposed to the White House in a midterm election, but he also comes from a state that strongly opposes the president.