It Is Our Time

Seizing momentum and never giving up

Last night was glorious—a resounding victory across the board that should have all heading into the next year with confidence, determination and, indeed joy that so many of us reject the toxic combination of cruelty, incompetence, greed, and authoritarianism that has wholly taken over the Republican Party.

In the three biggest elections—the New York mayoral race, and the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races—the Democratic candidates didn’t just win decisively, they won resoundingly. Governor-elect of New Jersey Mikie Sherril, in particular, far exceeded expectations.

Elsewhere, smaller, local elections also put Republicans on notice. Three Democratic state supreme court justices retained their seats despite Donald’s actively campaigning against them; voters in Maine resoundingly defeated a ballot initiative that would have required photo IDs for in-person voting, while limiting absentee voting and the use of ballot drop boxes; and in California, Prop 50, which will, according to The New York Times, “counteract Republican gerrymanders [Donald] has sought in red states [and] change California’s congressional district boundaries to make it easier for Democrats to flip five seats now held by Republicans,” passed with almost 64% of the vote.

Despite Donald’s pathetic protestations to the contrary, these results were in part very much about him—his unpopularity, his unfitness, and his failures. In the immediate aftermath of the results he posted:

“TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,” according to pollsters.

That’s his ineffectual attempt to assuage his deep narcissistic wound and distance himself from taking responsibility for his party’s getting trounced.

But these elections were also about so much more than Donald. They beat back the sense that the die has been cast and the bleak future the Republican Party has in store for us is set in stone; they served as a signal to establishment Democrats that their time is over unless they wake up and prove to us that they can embrace change. They reassured tens of millions of us that the future is in our hands, that there is not only hope, but possibility.

It would be a mistake to be sanguine about the lengths Donald and the Republicans will go to make the 2026 mid-term elections difficult for us. This morning, Donald said

“They’re gonna make DC a state and they’re gonna make Puerto Rico a state. So now they pick up two states, four senators. They’re gonna pick up electoral votes. It’s gonna be a very, very bad situation. Now, if we do what I’m saying, they’ll most likely never obtain power.”

He was pretending to refer to implementing popular policies that will convince voters to keep voting Republican, but they have thus far shown themselves not simply incapable of that, but absolutely averse to it.

We know, for example, that they are contemplating sending ICE and the National Guard to monitor polling places; we know that all red states will continue extreme redistricting to steal Congressional seats from Democrats; we know that the fascists in Donald’s inner circle are looking for any excuse to declare martial law.

But we’ve known these things for awhile. The take away from last night is that the momentum, the enthusiasm, and the voters aren’t just clear-eyed about what’s at stake, but are willing to show up in overwhelming numbers to make sure we defeat the forces trying to take away our rights, our humanity, and our democracy.

Our cause is a righteous one. And last night, we threw down the gauntlet.