Watershed Event: A Night of History

Tuesday was a night for the history books. The Midterm elections were hit by the predicted Blue Wave. The electoral force gave the nation an historic number of firsts. Among the ceiling-shattering victories are the following:

1. Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Atlanta mayor, defeated Republican billionaire Rick Jackson, to become the first Black female governor in the county. She also ranks as the first Black person and woman to occupy Georgia’s top office. In doing so Bottoms underscored her ability to fight the Trump administration.
2. Xavier Becerra made history as California’s first elected Latino governor. The son of Mexican immigrants, he broke through a crowded Democratic primary and went on to beat Republican conservative pundit Steve Hilton. Becerra is now set to govern a state where more than 40 percent of the residents identify as Latino.
3. Democrat Gina Hinojosa managed a stunning upset, unseating three-term governor Greg Abbott. She will be the state’s first Latina governor and the first Democrat to occupy the governor’s office since 1990. Bucking heavy funding for Abbott, Hinojosa focused on affordability and opposition to new data centers.
4. Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan, to become the Senate’s first Muslim member. He repeatedly fended off attacks on his identity from Rogers and President Trump.
5. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is the first Native American woman to be elected to the Senate. A member of the Ojibwe and White Earth Nation, Flanagan bested the well-funded Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter.
6. Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to become Ohio’s first female governor. Final weeks of the campaign were consumed by Ramaswamy sinking millions into a much-criticized ad featuring her mother calling Acton a liar. The mother lost custody of her children after Acton’s stepfather was accused of raping Acton, aged 12.
7. Deb Haaland, former U.S. interior secretary, won the race to become that state’s first Native American governor. She is a member of the Laguna Pueblo.
8. New Hampshire Rep. Chris Pappas was elected to the Senate, defeating John Sununu, a former U. S. senator. Pappas becomes the first out gay man to serve in the chamber.
9. Republican Byron Donalds will be Florida’s first Black governor, succeeding term-limited Ron DeSantis. Donalds, a three-term congressman, was endorsed by Trump but nevertheless made affordability central to his campaign.
10. David Crowley won Wisconsin’s governor’s race to become the first Black person to hold that office. After dropping out of the race over the summer, he returned urged by outgoing Gov. Tony Evers. Crowley defeated Tom Tiffany, a Republican opponent who greatly outspent him.

While votes are still being counted in some races – notably Alaska and Mississippi — it is apparent that the nation has witnessed a watershed election, remarkable for its turn-around. Democrats won control of both houses of Congress and important governorships, as well gains in state legislatures. Gerrymanders pushed by Trump to assist his party appeared in many cases to have backfired, failing to elect Republicans. What else failed was the outsized spending that fueled Republican candidates. Elon Musk spent $200 million in Texas alone.

In the aftermath, there was ample blame. Trump said, “Because I wasn’t on the ballot, we didn’t get enough people out to vote.” Republicans pointed back, saying it was a result of choices the president made: tariff policies and the unpopular war with Iran driving up prices. Some said it was his support of feeble candidates like Ken Paxton and Darlene Graham.

Vice President JD Vance blamed military intervention in Iran. Consultant Louis Gio said, “Why push things like the White House Ballroom? Like that’s what the country needs?” Mayor David Holt of Oklahoma City said, “It feels like the entire country coming together and saying, ‘Enough.’”

 Polls had indicated that the nation was in for a Democratic swing,  but failed to gauge the strength of its strong rebuke of Trump. There are some who are heralding the night as a win for decency over division. Looking at the variety of firsts and the unprecedented gains by women and minorities, it could really be a victory for democracy.