Eyes on the Prize
Tuesday's election results were a huge relief, but they should not be interpreted an excuse to become complacent.
Democrats — including a Democratic Socialist — ran the table in Tuesday’s election. Progressives and Democrats (and really anyone who truly cares about democracy itself) can breathe a sigh of relief. It’s been a long time since Democrats and progressives have had reason to celebrate.
The sigh of relief, though, is a temporary one because, in truth, the election didn’t — and couldn’t — instantly solve any of the issues that we are facing as a nation. Instead, the election results were a primarily a barometer about the political mood of the nation.
We’ve recently seen multiple polls in which Trump’s behavior, Trump’s policies (such as they are), and Trump himself are all in negative territory. Trump and the MAGA crowd scoffed at those polls, claiming they were “fake news.” (Seriously, Trumpists, aren’t you tired of that flimsy, worn out excuse?) But the election removed any lingering doubt about the legitimacy of those polls:
In New York City, Zohran Mamdani beat the Trump-endorsed Independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, receiving more votes than his two opponents combined.
In New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill outperformed expectations in a race against serial gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, beating her Republican opponent by a 13-point margin.
In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger will become the first female governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, beating devoted homophobe Republican Winsome Earle-Sears by a 15-point margin.
In Maine, voters passed a “red flag” gun safety measure that enables families to petition a judge to temporarily remove a gun from the possession of a family member who may pose a threat to himself or others.
In Pennsylvania, the three state Supreme Court justices who were instrumental in stopping the fake electors scheme in 2020 all won their retention votes to remain on the bench for another term.
Also in Pennsylvania, every Republican on two Bucks County school boards was voted out of office and replaced by a Democrat.
In California, Prop 50 — the initiative that enabled redistricting of state in response to gerrymandering in Texas — passed by almost a two-to-one majority, providing Democrats with the potential of five additional seats in the House of Representatives.
That last item — the victory of the Prop 50 ballot measure — isn’t the only good news for redistricting nationwide. The win there and the other Democratic party wins around the country indicate that, even if the Republicans keep redistricting other states, that Republican effort may be futile. More blue states may be inspired to do their own redistricting, encouraged by the results in California.
Even in those states that have been gerrymandered in favor of Republicans, there’s a possibility — perhaps even a likelihood — that those districts in which Republican majorities have been spread thin could go to the Democratic candidate because of Democratic party voter enthusiasm and distrust of Trump and the Republicans.
In races large and small, Democrats prevailed. Some races had national significance; others were far more local or regional. But the thing they had in common was that they were part of the anti-Trump/anti-authoritarian trend as a component of those wins.
These wins are a certainly boost for Democrats. But in the next 12 months, every minute will count, in terms of identifying the right candidates and campaigning diligently for them. Any momentum gained in these off-year elections must be sustained if we hope to put the brakes on Trump in the 2026 midterms.
Going forward, we’ll need to strike the balance between experiencing the joy at this round of elections and planning and executing the work that’s left to do to defeat the forces at play here in the U.S.
These off-year elections following so closely on the heels of the second wildly successful No Kings march may seem like a one-two punch for Trump. Perhaps they are. But we still need the knockout punch. A potential by-product of these wins is that there may be some Republicans who see the handwriting on the wall and soften their support for Trump, both in Congress and among the population at large. But relying on Republicans to do the right thing is like Charlie Brown relying on Lucy not to yank the football away when he’s about to kick it.
At a minimum, we’ll need to do what we can to prevent any further damage and to undo some of the damage of the first ten months of this horrific administration.
Fortunately, there has been an intentional building of the infrastructure of peaceful resistance, and the products of that infrastructure (the “Hands Off!” and “No Kings” marches) have been consequential. The anti-Trump movement has also been growing commensurate with the degree of cruelty and dysfunction coming from the White House.
If past is prologue, Trump will become more irrational, more vengeful, more toddler-like in his behavior, although it hardly seems possible. His behavior of late has been decreasingly connected with reality and increasingly hostile. What that tells me is that the resistance has to keep the heat on and turn it up as high as we can.
Democratic politicians need to do everything in their power to wrest control of the media narrative away from the MAGA crowd and towards the resistance. It’s up to the rest of us to cajole and badger the Democratic politicians to do so.
Zohran Mamdani has made some big promises for the city of New York, some of which even his most ardent supporters are uncertain about their chances for success. It’s 100% guaranteed that the opposition will simultaneously do everything in their power to prevent him from keeping those promises and then criticize him for not keeping those promises. (We’ve seen all the plays in that Republican playbook for years.)
Moreover, whether it’s been intentional or not, Mamdani has found himself in the national spotlight, becoming an emblem of everything that is threatening and scary to those on the right and representing everything that is hopeful and forward-thinking to those on the left.
It’s up to his supporters to magnify his successes and to fight back against the propaganda that is already circulating, despite the fact that he hasn’t yet set foot in Gracie Mansion.
With Mamdani’s successes, his term(s) as mayor of New York can become a blueprint for other Democrats, not so much in the specific policies but rather in his willingness to speak unvarnished truth that appeals to both old school Democrats and to the next generation of Democrats whose lives will be the most affected by the progressive ideas that Mamdani is espousing.
