My Thoughts on the 2026 Midterm Elections
I’m not good with political commentary. However, I’ve been keeping up with the latest news and opinions from several outlets regarding the recent election. As always, if there is anything I’ve written that turned out to be objectively false, if there’s an important point, or two, to be made that must be addressed or have your own opinions, please use the comment section below.
Okay, let’s get started.
First off, like most of the nation, I didn’t expect the election to turn out the way it did. Indeed, while people expected a blue wave, what they got instead was a blue tsunami, a tidal wave of Democratic leaders elected will be the grand majority in both the House and Senate.
Although, as of this writing, votes are still being counted. But regardless, Democrats won the majority control of Congress.
So, how are MAGA Republicans handling this? Well, as well as you can imagine. They’ve been distraught and pissed off as they expected a red wave. They hoped and prayed for a continued majority stake in Congress. Hundreds of millions of dollars were invested, thanks in large part of their richest white supremacist billionaire backer Elon Musk. And the records have shown that it didn’t matter if they had moral integrity or any knowledge of politics, and some certainly had neither. They just want the MAGA stranglehold on Washington to continue and probably go further right, so long as their devotion to Trump is solidified.
Instead, they lost big time, and they handled it the way you’ve expected them to: with denial that they lost, pointing fingers at each other, including towards Donald Trump himself while naming issues like rising gas prices, ICE, the war in Iran and the Epstein files as responsible for sealing their fate, developed suspicions that the election was rigged against them and having doom fantasies that the blue tsunami signaled the end of America.
But of course, they can never have the guts to truly hold themselves responsible. After all, Republicans and conservatives seem to think they’re innocent-by-proxy no matter what they do or don’t do. They live in denial of their own wrongdoings. They whine and moan when they’re held accountable. And of course, they look for people or groups of people to scapegoat for their own fuckups.
Address a real-world problem they’ve caused, and watch how quickly they shift the blame to Obama, Biden, Hilary, Democrats, liberals, trans people, etc.
Personal responsibility, my ass.
It will be interesting to see how the balance of power will converge in the near future. Will it be peaceful or will it be a repeat of January 6th 2021. MAGA is an emotionally and psychologically disturbed cult that cannot handle reality. The most unhinged tend to react violently as demonstrated on that day.
However, the good news is that the cult is crumbling. Cracks are showing within the movement with people deciding that staying loyal to it and Trump are cruises to nowhere. There’s even a support group called Leaving MAGA for those who want to leave but don’t know how or lack the means to do so. But until then, the Trump regime of mediocrity is still occupying this nation’s government, and Democrats have to step up their game and make accountability one of their top priorities.
And speaking of Democrats…
Again, no one saw the blue tsunami coming, but it’s mostly due to the nation’s overall frustrations and exhaustion with the MAGA government takeover. As history has shown time and time again, a movement that, at its core, is based on or is full-on white extremism is doomed to fail. So, democrats will have to somehow be the party that rejects it outright if it ever hopes to survive, and that will require some serous introspection within their party and themselves.
As you recall, Republicans tried to rig this year’s election in their favor months prior. They tried gerrymandering and redistricting. They tried to spread misinformation. They tried to implement stricter voter laws as well as suppression. And their Supreme Court even gutted the Voting Rights Act.
Yet, Black people showed up and showed out regardless, showing once again that no matter what, we will keep moving forward. We invested our time and votes into ensuring blue victories, because most of us saw how toxic Trump, MAGA and Republicans have been. One could go so far as to say that the Black community, Black women in particular, helped saved America once again.
Speaking of Black folks in politics…
Keisha Lance Bottoms became Georgia’s first Black female governor ever.
Juliana Stratton will become Illinois’ second Black female senator after Carol Moseley Braun, who was the first.
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Christian Mitchell will be the first Black man to serve as Illinois’ Lt. governor.
Wes Moore, a Black man, won his reelection bid for governor of Maryland.
Byron Donalds became Florida’s first Black governor. (Yes, I know he’s a far-right Republican.)
David Crowley was elected Wisconsin’s first Black governor.
Attorney General Aaron Ford won Nevada’s election to become its first Black governor.
We’ve seen a lot of other firsts that are worth mentioning.
Deb Haaland won the Senate seat in New Mexico and not only became the first Native American female governor in the state, but in the nation overall.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American senator in Minnesota and in the nation.
Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed is the first Muslim American to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Chris Pappas won his New Hampshire’s seat in the Senate and will become the country’s first openly gay male senator.
Gina Hinojosa will be Texas’ first Latina governor.
And Republicans are crying over this.
While most of the aforementioned Black governors and senators are Democrats and the party itself is more diverse, I would be naïve as hell to think that this concludes the long, hard road to get to where we are. It’s best to be cautiously optimistic about the change in the balance of power in favor of Democrats.
To any conservative who feels the need to recite the tired old “Lincoln freed the slaves” line or “Democrats are the party of the KKK, as if either has any meaning to both parties of today, please save your text. Both parties have largely changed since then.
The Republicans of old believed the government should protect minorities, but left that belief behind in the early 20th Century. In a few decades since, they embraced racist strategies to ensure they maintain the majority white vote.
Democrats, especially the ones in the South back then, supported enslavement and went on to believe in racial segregation as time passed. However, both parties began reforming themselves. Democrats started supporting civil rights. So, it would follow that Black Americans would start supporting Democrats. Today, many of us still see Democrats as the party in favor of civil rights, guaranteed government safety and the advancement of Black folks and other oppressed groups.
Sure, there have been Black Republicans, and they still exist to this day, but given how the party is now, one has to ask why. But that’s a subject for another article.
Sure, most Black folks continue to back Democrats, but we do so with a watchful eye while managing expectations and curbing our enthusiasm. Black folks, individually speaking of course, roll with the party considered the better choice economically, socially and politically for the Black community at large. It just so happens Democrats are the best alternative to Republicans who always seem to bring about political and social disorder where Black folks are among the ones who get the worst of it, especially if it amounts to economic turmoil.
With that said, I expect Democrats to make my vote, at least a little worthwhile. While I want strong party leadership, DEI, abortion rights, adequate and affordable health care, funding put back into education, the uber-wealthy to pay taxes, a rein on AI, environmental and climate concern and the overall stability and advancement of the economy, I expect them to go hard on Trump, his regime MAGA and the Republicans too chicken to stand up to them. I want them to show to the nation and the world that accountability is still an important value. I want to see consequences and punishments. I want to see MAGA collapse. And I want this society to actually be great for all of its citizens for once in its 250-year existence.
But again, I’m keeping my hopes for any major change in serious check. After all, as we all know by next year, Trump and his goons will still be in power and MAGA will still exist.
Democrats, what will you do?
