OP-ED: A new dawn in America
Following the election, my wife and I watched a summary collage of the acceptance speeches given by victorious Democrats from around the country. We were being introduced to many newly elected senators and congressmen for the first time. The speeches they gave were inspirational and brought us close to tears.
Newly elected Georgia Gov. Keisha Lance Bottoms explained that she is the great-great-granddaughter of individuals who were enslaved. The senator elect from Texas, James Talarico told the story of his mother who shortly after Talarico was born was confronted with physical abuse. Choosing to protect her infant son, she packed all of their belongings and fled in the middle of the night.
A self-described “prairie populist,” Democrat Josh Turek won Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat by 57,000 votes. He was born with spina bifida and requires use of a wheelchair. He has fought through adversity all his life to reach the Senate.
Unlike President Trump’s victory speech two years ago, there was no talk of revenge or retribution. Each of the winning candidates emphasized their determination to represent all of their constituents.
The outcome surprised the pundits, pollsters, and prognosticators from both political parties. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz called the results “a Watergate level repudiation” for his party. Democrats won a sweeping national victory by flipping numerous seats in traditional Republican strongholds. Voter participation reached 63%. Exit polls showed that paramount in voter’s minds were consumer confidence and concerns over government corruption.
In the Senate, Democrats secured a solid majority after picking up seven seats, with two uncalled. The historic breakthroughs in deep-red states included Talarico in Texas — the state’s first Democratic senator in over 30 years. In Kansas, Adam Hamilton flipped a Senate seat that had been held by Republicans for 94 years. Other surprising pickups occurred in South Carolina (Annie Andrews) and Michigan (Abdul El-Sayed, projected as the nation’s first Muslim senator). Susan Collins of Maine was forced to conclude her 30-year Senate career following a Democratic victory.
Democrats gained control of the House, flipping more than 40 seats nationwide. House Democrats have won 254 seats and are leading in another seven, well ahead of the 218 majority. What was most unexpected is that after Republicans redrew congressional maps to protect their majority, many districts went blue.
Following the decisive shift in power, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is poised to become the first African-American Speaker of the House. In defeat, current Speaker Mike Johnson stepped down as GOP leader.
Following the Democratic “blue-tsunami,” they now hold a majority of the nation’s governorships for the first time since 2010. In Georgia, Bottoms flipped the state to become America’s first Black female governor. In Texas, Gina Inosa made history as the state’s first Hispanic governor. At least 10 state legislative chambers flipped from Republican to Democratic control. Democrats successfully locked in new “trifectas” (controlling the governorship and both legislative chambers) in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Arizona.
Incumbent Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro handily won reelection, defeating Republican challenger Stacy Garrity. Shapiro secured 60.4% of the vote compared to Garrity’s 38.3%. The Democratic party will have a 26-24 majority in the Senate chamber. In the Pennsylvania House, Democrats expanded their majority by at least eight seats.
At a news conference the day after the election, Shapiro explained his 2027 agenda. The points included increasing funding for mass transit, raising the minimum wage, protecting abortion rights, creating a retroactive statute of limitations to permit abuse victims to pursue legal action, increasing K-12 public school funding, and building more affordable housing.
In Washington County and across Southwestern Pennsylvania, Republicans bucked the trend and held back the national and state Democratic landslide. All of their incumbent candidates retained their state House seats or, in the case of Greene County’s Ben Humble, became a first term representative. Republican Guy Reschenthaler won his fifth term in the 14th Congressional District, which includes all of Washington County. Republican state Sen. Camera Bartolotta secured her fourth term. Local Democrats were encouraged that Alan Bradstock gave Reschenthaler the smallest win percentage of his career in a very Republican district.
What comes next in the final two years of the Trump administration? The president faces a starkly transformed political reality. Voters have rebuked his administration’s policies — including economic tariffs and the highly controversial war in Iran — turning him into a lame-duck president forced to adapt to a divided government.
The president will continue to aggressively flex his presidential power through executive orders. However, the Democratic Congress (and the courts) will push back. Congress is expected to launch sweeping investigations into Trump’s business dealings, his administration’s conduct, and the execution of the war in Iran.
Akin to the Texas Revolution of 1835, the Mexican siege of the Alamo is over, and the Sam Huston counteroffensive has begun. As dawn turns into sunshine, Democrats will seek to make a long overdue course correction.
Gary Stout is a Washington attorney.