In today’s edition … You tell me why you voted … Who is ready for 2028? Only sort of kidding … but first …
Democrats win up and down the ballot
Democrats had no idea their night would be that good.
Party operatives at Senate Democrats’ campaign arm headquarters had no plans to hold a news conference Tuesday night. Why would they? Their odds of winning the chamber were low, let alone clinching the majority early in the night.
But wow, were they wrong.
Around 9 p.m., committee staffers rushed to set up a podium and lights so likely-to-be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer could celebrate on camera.
“Republicans made a choice and followed [President Donald] Trump over the cliff,” Schumer said, visibly giddy.
The scene captures just how strong — and surprising — the night was for Democrats, who watched gobsmacked as voters nationwide delivered a true Republican wipeout.
They won up and down the ballot nationwide last night, carrying almost every competitive race in states once considered wholly out of reach and delivering a stunning rebuke to unified Republican leadership in Washington. They will have a Senate majority, a House majority, new governors (including in Texas) and flipped state legislatures.
You can read my full takeaways on last night here, from how redistricting efforts did not help Republicans to how the electorate that vaulted Trump to the White House fell apart to how Democratic messaging around the economy worked.
But my overarching takeaway from the night is that there really is no such thing as a permanent realignment in American politics, as shown by how voters who once embraced Republican messaging on the economy loudly rejected it, after two years of Trump backtracking on a litany of campaign promises.
Trump’s fingerprints are all over Republican losses. Redistricting efforts kicked off by Trump not only failed, but Democrats won in new districts that were supposed to be easy GOP victories in states like Texas and Florida. The president’s handpicked candidates, like Ken Paxton in Texas, Michael Whatley in North Carolina and Darline Graham in South Carolina, all lost. And there is absolutely no evidence that his barnstorming helped boost Republican turnout.
“The president is right that candidate quality matters. But he seems to be conveniently forgetting that it’s his endorsed Republican primary candidates who are now getting their asses kicked from coast to coast,” said a national Republican operative. “But hey, at least we have Guam!” they added, pointing to Trump celebrating a win in the territory.
On the Democratic side, there is plenty of proof that their messaging worked. Candidates nationwide ran almost exclusively on bringing down prices, arguing that Trump has failed to do just that.
Exit polls really drove this home.
In House battleground districts, Democrats won more than 50 percent of voters who said the economy and jobs were among the most important issues, compared with over 40 percent for Republicans . The split was even more dramatic on the Iran war, which many voters blamed for the high prices. Democrats won over 60 percent of voters who said the issue was in their top three, compared with over 30 percent for Republicans. The results will update during the day.
Democrats also highlighted perceived issues of corruption in Washington, seizing on Trump’s efforts to enrich himself while in office and arguing that his alleged corruption was costing voters money. Evidence suggests the messaging worked.
“Tonight is the story of Republicans paying for the cost of corruption,” said Adam Bozzi, a Democratic operative and adviser for Defend the Vote, a progressive PAC focused on protecting voting access. “Democrats are going to need to get to work on it when they take control.”
There will be plenty to say about where Democrats go from here — in fact, I will have a story on this on Thursday — but as exuberant as Democrats are right now, plenty of elected officials want to make sure the party does not over-read the results.
“It’s really important that a takeaway is that we are being given an opportunity. That the message should not be, people are completely happy with the Democratic Party, that they think we’re crushing it, and we’re back. That’s not the message,” said Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat. “The message is that people are suffering under Donald Trump, that he is a failed president and hasn’t delivered. They are open to giving Democrats a chance. And this is an opportunity that’s going to take us really focusing on showing that we deserve their support going forward.”
You can read our full takeaways from last night — written by my brilliant colleagues and me — here.
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From across the newsroom
- See how counties are shifting in the 2026 midterms, from Kevin Schaul, Aadit Tambe, Clara Ence Morse and Eric Lau.
- Voters punish Trump with historic swing to Democrats, from Isaac Arnsdorf.
- How Americans voted in the midterms, by demographic group and in key states, from Scott Clement, John Muyskens and Junne Joaquin Alcantara.
- Musk threw his fortune at the midterms. Voters handed him a stunning defeat, from Faiz Siddiqui.
- Adam Hamilton wins Kansas Senate race, becoming first Democrat elected to seat in nearly a century, from Alexei Koseff and Teo Armus.
What I’m watching
Get ready for the Democratic debate over what lessons to take from this moment.
Some will argue that more centrist candidates in battleground districts delivered the wins. Progressives will argue that more left-leaning candidates in certain House and Senate races helped deliver the majority.
The debate — which will start today — is a precursor to the fight Democrats will have in 2028. But the contours are already clear.
“The Democratic Party needs a brawl in 2028. We need to have an open clash of ideas,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California), one of the leading progressives in Congress and a possible 2028 presidential candidate, told me ahead of the results. He called for a “no-holds-barred fight about ideas and not kind of a sanitized debate filled with platitudes” that he feels the party conducted in past elections.
“Voters want leaders who have courage and are uncompromised and are going to stand up to the war machine, who are going to stand up and call out the genocide in Gaza, zero out aid to Israel,” he said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who won reelection on Tuesday night and helped deliver wins up and down the ballot in the commonwealth, had a slightly different take.
Shapiro said the wins of four Democrats in battleground districts “send a very clear message that these are the types of common sense candidates who can win in the toughest districts in the toughest swing state in the entire country.”
He rejected the idea that this was a fight between more centrist candidates and the party’s left. “It’s about being common sense and results-oriented. And it’s not about a political ideology, but it’s about that get s— done mentality that I have and I think a lot of other Democrats who are running with me,” he said.
This debate will define the next two years of the Democratic Party.
From you
Many of you shared thoughtful reasons why you voted in this election, so many that I couldn’t possibly share all the emails you sent in.
But a few of my favorites highlight how people go to the ballot box with myriad issues on their mind.
“Why did I vote at all? Because I always do. It is my duty as a member of a representative democracy. It justifies all the bitching I do about how the government is getting so many things wrong. And sometimes (not often) it makes a difference in a close race,” Earl Jones wrote.
“One of my 6x-great-grandfathers died in the American Revolution so I could participate directly in the governing of my country, state, and town,” Peter Allen Byrd wrote. “I feel strongly that if I do not vote, his death was in vain, and I always pause in the voting booth — even just briefly — to offer thanks for Capt. Allen’s sacrifice.”
James Victor Kosnett, an independent, said he was a single-issue voter this year: “Support for Israel and safety for Jews in America, Israel, and worldwide.”
“I see this as existential,” James wrote.
And Carol Willis answered our question with a declaration: “Because I can!”
Send a reply
Democrats have control of the House and Senate. What would you like to see them do with their power? Does it matter to you if Trump will veto whatever they pass?
Let me and your fellow Early Brief readers know at [email protected].
Thanks for reading. You can follow me on X at @merica.
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