Democrats on Tuesday won resounding victories in New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and California, which collectively indicate that a bold repudiation of MAGA politics has taken hold. An honest headline might read: “Democrats are in array”—not “disarray,” the favorite dig about the party from political media and even Democratic donors, strategists, and pundits. The rending-the-garments, down-in-the-dumps attitude about the party’s future is due for an adjustment. The people have spoken.
There is nothing like overwhelming victories in two gubernatorial races with Virginia’s Abigail Spanberger defeating Winsome Earle-Sears by 15% and New Jersey’s Mikie Sherrill triumphing over Republican Jack Ciattarelli by 13%; an absolute runaway victory in a redistricting fight aimed to counteract Donald Trump, with Prop 50 passing in California by an astonishing 25% margin (and counting); easy confirmation of three Democratic Pennsylvania judges; and a smashing victory for New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (by 9%), who has been demonized by Donald Trump, who endorsed his disgraced opponent, Andrew Cuomo.
The repudiation of anyone and anything associated with Trump should have come as no surprise. For months, it has been apparent that MAGA Republicans, not Democrats, are in a heap of trouble. Most importantly, Americans by a wide margin say Trump has overreached, abusing his power. Before voters cast their ballots Tuesday, a spate of polls showed Trump at or near all-time lows in approval and all-time highs in disapproval. In survey after survey, the American people have overwhelmingly voiced their disapproval of his handling of the economy, trade, prices, foreign policy, healthcare, and immigration. A significant majority disapproves of his deployment of troops in U.S. cities, turning his immigration stance into a liability.
If Democrats were concerned that the message about Trump’s authoritarian threat and his utter incompetence in governing had not gotten through, the data should provide some reassurance. Democrats have also opened a substantial lead in the generic polls, suggesting that voters do trust them more than do-nothing MAGA Republicans. On the shutdown specifically, Americans’ views have (as we predicted) held steady in blaming Trump and the Republicans in Congress more than Democrats. Senate Democrats contemplating some sort of deal should remember which side has the upper hand, underscored by last night’s historic triumphs.
To the dismay of their base, House and Senate Democrats have not been able to “do something” to stop the chaos, cruelty, dysfunction, and corruption, given their limited tools to stop a party with a lock on both chambers of Congress, the White House, and a partisan majority of hacks on the Supreme Court. Still, Democrats have pushed out their message quite effectively on everything from the big, ugly bill to ICE brutality. The election results only confirm polling showing that MAGA Republicans are in deep trouble.
That does not mean Democrats can rest on their laurels and wait for the midterm elections to roll around. In the next year, Democrats face multiple tasks.
First, Democrats would be wise to put the elections in context. Many races were cast as referenda on Trump and his agenda. That was certainly the case in California, where voters overwhelmingly voted to counteract Trump’s power grab in Texas. Likewise, both Democratic gubernatorial candidates aimed their message beyond their states’ borders.
Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger exhorted crowds in the closing days of the campaign: “We are going to send a message that Virginia is turning the page, that Virginia is once again ready to set an example, and we are going to set an example for the rest of the country.” In a similar vein, former president Barack Obama (after appearing at a mammoth event for Spanberger) declared at a rally for New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, “If you meet this moment, if you believe that change can happen, you will not just elect Mikie Sherrill your next governor, you will not just put New Jersey on a path to a brighter future, but you will set a glorious example for your nation.”
If Democrats reinforce the big takeaway—namely, that Trump and his MAGA lackeys in Congress have lost the support of the country and that Trump poses a mortal threat to GOP majorities—they can set the terms for the midterms (i.e., boot out Republicans who have failed on all fronts). They might also turn up the pressure on Republicans.
Do GOP incumbents want to go down with the Trump Titanic—or begin to listen to their constituents?
Maybe cutting off SNAP benefits, taking away healthcare to pay for tax cuts for the rich, and brutalizing residents in American cities with shock troops are not the way to endear themselves to voters.
Second, Republicans have already telegraphed their silly line that New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani represents the entire Democratic Party. Mamdani got roughly 1 million votes and was elected by one of the most liberal cities in America. Faced with the alternative of a corrupt opponent backed by Trump and other billionaires, liberals preferred a socialist. Two moderate women with national security backgrounds won the governorships of two populous states with a combined total of approximately 3.5 million votes, including over 55% of self-identified independent voters. So, which branch of the party dominated Tuesday?
Third, many consultants, pundits, and operatives insist Democrats need a “positive message.” That will certainly be true in 2028, but the party out of power rarely has a positive message in the midterms. In 2018, Democrats won big running against Trump; in 2022, Republicans won the House majority by running against President Joe Biden.
In any case, 7 million people protesting on Oct. 18 provided Democrats with the most compelling message for the moment: no kings, no bullies, no chaos, no oligarchs, no corruption, no tariffs, etc. To put that in more concrete, positive terms: Democrats will be running in defense of the rule of law, voting rights, the financial well-being of average Americans, clean government, and a humane immigration policy. The 2026 midterms offer the chance to disrupt and defund MAGA tyranny. In 2028, the “what next?” question will be up for debate.
Finally, governing still matters. Democratic governors, joined by new colleagues in New Jersey and Virginia, remain the most effective messengers and fighters against the MAGA onslaught. Gavin Newsom in California, Wes Moore in Maryland, JB Pritzker in Illinois, Andy Beshear in Kentucky, and Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania—despite having differences in tone, home-state constituents, and issues particular to each state to confront—remain articulate exponents of a center-left pro-worker, pro-democracy vision that rejects racism, conspiracies, and reverse-Robin-Hood economics. (None, by the way, is soft on crime or the border.)
Democratic governors represent the promise of functional democracy. They have been critical to Democrats’ recovery to date, and they will be the tip of the spear in fending off a desperate, lame-duck president and a MAGA Congress headed for defeat. If Democrats—and democracy—are to recover from the horror of the Trump era, you can expect governors, bolstered now by Sherrill and Spanberger, to lead the way.
And in Georgia, two Democrats were elected to the Public Service Commission, which sets rates for the power industry in the state. For the first time in more than a decade! Onward!
Great article, great photo!
Makes me weep with joy and hope.
Now, forward!