When The Dust Settles

Flash back to three years ago.

Those of us on this blog were more than likely glued to our TV sets, awaiting the results of the 2018 midterm elections. We had gone through 22 months of hell, with TFG in charge of both the White House and both branches of Congress. Had it not been for a heroic stance by John McCain, 20 million of us may have very well lost our health insurance we were able to afford thanks to the Affordable Care Act. We had a complicit Republican-led Congress, unwilling to do anything useful except pass tax cuts for the wealthy while ignoring the mounting scandals that the administration was piling up. It was a dark time, but there was optimism. There was talk of a "blue wave" ready and willing to sweep Democrats back into power. There were up-and-coming stars on the Democratic ticket including Beto O'Rourke in Texas, Stacy Abrams in Georgia, and Andrew Gillum in Florida. The stars were aligning for Democrats to finally take back the country and give the country hope for the first time in 2 years.

Then the election happened.

Much like Tuesday night, the media harped on a few key losses rather than a few key wins. With the returns revealing the close losses of Andrew Gillum for governor and Bill Nelson for Senate in Florida along with a Stacy Abrams loss in Georgia, media personalities like James Carville were quickly proclaiming that this vaunted "blue wave" was nowhere to be seen. Adding to the mix a Beto O'Rourke loss to incumbent Ted Cruz in a much-hyped Texas senatorial race and the narrative was quickly set that this night was becoming a disaster for the Democratic Party. As the late-night coverage trickled over to the next day, the fact that the Democrats had seized control of the House from Republicans was seemingly presented as an afterthought. Sure, results were trickling in favorably for the Democrats but they had lost their marquee matchups. Everything after that seemed like a downer. 

Except it wasn't.

Despite Carville's early proclamation, more and more Democrats ended up winning their Congressional races. There was the shock victory of Kendra Horn in Oklahoma of all places. There were 4 Congressional seats in Orange County, California swinging from red to blue for the first time since FDR. There was a former nurse named Lauren Underwood beating out a 4-term Republican incumbent in an R+3 district in Illinois. There were victories for Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico, becoming the first Native American women elected to Congress. There were victories for Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who became the first Muslims elected to Congress. There was a victory for Jared Polis of Colorado, who became the first openly gay man to be elected governor. There were the first-ever African-American congresswomen elected from Connecticut and Massachusetts. And, despite its Latino heritage, it took until 2018 for Texas to finally send its first two female Latinas to the halls of Congress.

When the dust settled 10 days later, the truth became apparent: this was a very good day for the Democratic Party. With control of Congress, the Democrats could now finally provide a critical check to Trump's growing authoritarian impulses. They could end any thought the administration had of overturning Obamacare. They could prevent any additional reckless tax cuts that would of course do nothing to grow the economy. But most importantly, Democrats in the House under Nancy Pelosi's leadership could stand united against the Trump agenda. Gone was the GOP's ability to potentially pass horrific legislation that would cripple everyday Americans. This win showed that despite everything that had happened over the past 22 months, we still lived in a democracy and we still had Democrats in Congress fighting for us and our best interests.  

Flash forward to Tuesday night. 

Three years later, the shoe was on the other foot. Rather than needing a "blue wave" to combat a Republican president, Democrats now needed victories with the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey to maintain their momentum from the 2020 presidential election. Despite there being multiple races in an off-off year election, the media chose to focus on the two governor's races, specifically the Virginia race where Trump acolyte Glenn Youngkin was set to take on former Governor Terry McAuliffe in the battleground state. This was the type of race our media loved with Trump, Obama, and Biden all weighing in on their candidate of choice. Historically seen as a bellwether, this Virginia race would set the media narrative for the next 12 months. A Youngkin win would represent the White wrath and the continuing influence of Donald Trump on the party. A McAuliffe win would represent the backlash to Trumpism and would put Democrats on the offensive prior to 2022. Every other race, including New Jersey which was expected to be an easy Democratic win, took a backseat to what was happening in Virginia. 

And like in 2018, we again missed a remarkable string of victories that went under the radar. 

Virginia hurt, yes. New Jersey was much too close for comfort. But there were remarkable wins throughout the country that showed a lot of the grunt work and organizing victories on the ground that went largely unnoticed by the national media. Among a series of significant wins last night, we saw:  

-The Ohio election of Shontel Brown to Congress replacing Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudd. We knew this was a foregone conclusion after the primary but we can't help but smile knowing that Nina Turner was denied this seat thanks to a series of unforced errors in the primary. Brown is an up-and-coming star and should fit right in with workhorses like Lauren Underwood in Congress.

-The Boston mayoral election of Michelle Wu. Former City Councilor and Michelle Warren protégé Michelle Wu made history on Tuesday night, becoming the first Asian-American and first woman to be elected mayor of Boston. She enters the office taking over for interim mayor Kim Janey after Marty Walsh was named Joe Biden's Secretary of Labor back in March. Wu has ambitious plans to institute a city-wide Green New Deal and to make public transportation free and she becomes one of the country's youngest mayors at age 36. 

-The Pittsburgh mayoral election of Ed Gainey. State Rep. Ed Gainey made history on Tuesday night, becoming the city of Pittsburgh's first African-American mayor. Gainey won the general election easily after unsetting current mayor Bill Peduto in the Democratic primary. Making up 23% of city inhabitants, the African-American community in Pittsburgh is growing in political power and Gainey's victory now has the ability to inspire the next generation of leaders in the Steel City.  

-The New York City election of Alvin Bragg as District Attorney. While Eric Adams drew most of the New York City headlines for his victory last night in becoming the city's second African-American mayor, it is Bragg who may very well be the one we come to learn about in our history books. In addition to being the first African-American District Attorney in Manhattan, Bragg inherits the position from Cy Vance, who over the course of the next 2 months will determine whether or not to charge Donald Trump with a crime relating to the Trump Organization's tax-related crimes that were highlighted by the Alan Weisselberg indictment back in July. Look for Bragg to immediate get to work at the start of 2022 and should Vance chose to charge Trump, expect Bragg to become a household name moving forward.  

-The Cincinnati mayoral election of Aftab Pureval. In Cincinnati, 39-year-old Aftab Pureval made history, becoming the city's first-ever Asian-American mayor. Pureval, a second-generation lawyer whose parents immigrated from India and Tibet, is seen as a rising star in Ohio politics and takes over as mayor for John Cranley, who was term-limited and who is now seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2022.

-Maine passes first in the nation 'right to food' amendment. In addition to the rising stars mentioned, we also must look at local and statewide initiatives as a source of hope from Tuesday. Coming to us from Maine is an innovative amendment allowing individuals to "grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing." This amendment, the first of its kind, is seen as a necessary guarantee for Mainers concerned about corporations threatening local ownership of the food supply. Expect other rural blue states (looking at you, Vermont) to quickly follow suit in what should be a growing trend of using the power of the ballot to fend off greedy agricultural corporations. 

History is not linear. As much as we are inspired by the image of the moral arc of the universe bending toward justice, sometimes it stalls. Sometimes it sputters. Sometimes, I dare say, it moves backwards. Tuesday night may feel like one of those sputtering/retreating moments. But know that while Virginia is a loss that will require much reflection, the gains we saw were only possible because people fought through such previous sputters. Boston doesn't elect its first female Asian-American mayor without leaders and community activists standing up to the racism and prejudice that enveloped the city throughout the 1970s. Pittsburgh doesn't elect its first African-American mayor without that community gradually building power over a generation. And rural Mainers don't achieve Tuesday night's ballot victory without organizing and coming together over decades to fight off Big Ag. 

Let's not forget how important representation is in government. The young Indian-American boys at Aftab Pureval's election celebration now see someone in local government who looks like them. The young Asian-American girls in Boston will see a mayor who looks like them when they attend local festivals and city-wide celebrations. The African-American middle schoolers in Akron will see a Congresswoman who looks like them when they learn basic civics and government. The African-American high schoolers in Pittsburgh now see a face that matches theirs when they take that field trip to City Hall. There is one party and one party only embracing the changing demographics of this country by creating these diverse candidate pools and coalitions. There may still be work to be done, but if Tuesday night is any indication, there is a strong, powerful new generation of leaders ready and willing to receive the torch from an elder generation of Democratic leaders. 

And it is a torch that will burn much longer and brighter than any tiki torch wielded by the White supremacists who voted Tuesday night in Virginia.