Dem
54
Ties
2
GOP
44
Sorry this is late; as you can imagine, we got a LOT of e-mails this week, and it took time to go through them all.
On that subject, we got more reports about state and local elections/dynamics than we can plausibly run today. So, we are going to extend our pre-election practice of running Local Bytes on a regular basis during the week, at least for a week or two.
We also got a LOT of messages about what the results mean for the Democrats. Again, more than we can run today. As chance would have it, we are planning an extended series of items on what the results mean for the Democrats, as well. So, we are going to pair the reader letters on the subject with our items.
J.S. in Seattle, WA, writes: Election Day, and the early voting period leading up to it, were the true celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States. There were no cage matches on the White House lawn or other ridiculous events that nobody cared about. Instead, the celebration happened in schools, libraries and community centers all over the country, as Americans exercised their precious right to vote. Somewhere in the ether, the Founding Fathers and Mothers are smiling.
M.W. in Frederick, MD, writes: For me, this election meant more than taking back the House or the Senate or even Donald Trump. For me this election was a restoration of the faith that most Americans share the same values as me and want to see a similar direction for our country, something I had been doubting in recent years. Since Electoral-Vote.com keeps me well informed, my worst fear on Tuesday was not that the Democrats would have a bad day but that they would have a decent or good day and not a fantastic day. But a fantastic day it was! I don't think there are enough people that flip between the parties to explain the results, I think this election shows that when Democrats really care and get out there and vote in huge numbers they are very hard to beat anywhere in the country!
S.D. in York, England, UK, writes: As a reminder I am a White Anglo Saxon Protestant Heterosexual Affluent Male holding both a U.S. and U.K. passport (i.e. not typically seen as "minority"). Anyhow, I had a really nice cry when I read this.
Scott Colom Flips County Named for KKK Founder
"Mississippi Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom has flipped Forrest County, a once reliably Republican County named for Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest," the Mississippi Free Press reports. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."Content of character is winning!
E.W. in Seattle, WA, writes: To me, the significance of this election is that it marks the subsidence of the last ripples from the Civil War—the triumph of multiple candidates of many stripes in places where the seemingly intractable attitudes of the Old South had hung on for generations. Yesterday they were emphatically discarded—even the election of a Black woman governor of Georgia, and a Black man being competitive in the race for senator in Mississippi; and ironically, it was in Texas where the events leading to the Juneteenth holiday occurred in the 1860s, that provided the exclamation point for the change.
J.C. in Oakton, VA, writes: On a literally perfect day, I've never seen the Mall more deserted:
I'm guessing a lot of folks are asleep! I'll be there soon, but had to go in today.
The air feels lighter here today. The beginning of a new American era. And it is simply perfect—room temp and partly cloudy.
Q.A. in Fullerton, CA, writes: Looking at the new House map for the upcoming 120th Congress, I can't help but notice that every single mile of the U.S.-Mexico border will be represented by a Democrat.
D.B. in Farmville, VA, writes: I'm sure I'm not the first to note this, but another effect of this election will be to massively increase the split Senate delegations, from what I assume is a historic low (Three, right? I'm not counting Vermont) to something like triple that:
- WI and PA had no election this cycle
- ME converts to non-split (again, counting Sen. Angus King as D for this purpose)
- NC, SC, KS, IA, TX, OH at least, and maybe also AK and MS, all of which were unified Republican delegations, convert to split delegations
So that's 3 before and 8-10 after? It seems like that might shift the dynamics in the Senate some. (Or maybe not. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, for instance, could just blow off Sen.-elect James Talarico, D-TX, and hang out with his R buddies from other states. If he has any.) I feel like this used to be more common, but in the moment it still seems like a weird situation.
S.S. in West Hollywood, CA, writes: It is very strange coming here and seeing Texas a dark blue. I like it, but it is going to take some getting used to.
M.M. in San Diego, CA, writes: The 2026 midterm election is in the books, and that's what two years of pent up, collective rage looks like.
J.E. in Gilbertsville, PA, writes: My daughter says we need a better phrase than "blue tsunami" for what just happened. She's calling it a "blue nuclear bomb." I have to agree!
L.B.K. in Cle Elum, WA, writes: I think these four Cs: Chaos, Cruelty, Corruption and (in)Competence explain the huge anti-Trump election results. They apply to many issues voters care about: the economy, inflation, war with Iran, tariffs, immigration, unpopular cabinet personnel, etc.
H.B. in Portland, OR, writes: My take on the election vibe: This was a full-bore rejection of bro culture.
Look who won, regardless of party:
- Fierce moms
- Physicians
- Scientists
- Ministers
- Female military leaders
- Decent men of all kinds
- Intelligent, thoughtful listeners
Look who lost—across both parties, in primaries and on Election Day:
- Liars
- Grifters
- Cheaters
- Abusers
- Adulterers
- Trash-talkers
- Loudmouths
- And generally mean folks
Americans want decency, civility, and a functional government that works for them instead of declaring war on them and everyone else. All parties take heed.
G.G. in Vancouver, BC, Canada, writes: Welcome Back, America! This phrase has been resonating with me since about 9:00 p.m. PT on election night. I live in British Columbia, so it has to be that way!
My friends and neighbours here in Canada are so looking forward to going back in January to our favourite places in the U.S. that we have missed for the past few years.
It will be great to golf again south of the border, get reacquainted with American friends, visit family and enjoy our favourite American beverages and foods.
Thank you to all those candidates who ran and to everyone who helped make this sea-change election possible. We look forward to once again enjoying, without fear or apprehension, our traditional "Hands Across the Border" celebrations at the Peace Arch on the 49th parallel.
We look forward to sharing kinder, gentler times together.
P.S.: Please note that we continue to colour our writing by retaining the letter "u" in many of our words. Hopefully, you won't hold that against us when we return. I can't wait to use my NEXUS card again!
P.C. in Yandina Creek, QLD, Australia, writes: Voters just gave the U.S., the world's democratic vanguard, its best birthday present ever to celebrate 250 years. Goodbye to kleptocracy/kakistocracy. Welcome back "We The People." Makes an old anti-royalist very proud. Now, time to cement this responsibility. Roll up sleeves, and split your time between recouping stolen funds, and making life better for all.
R.H. in Zagreb, Croatia, writes: After spending much of the past two weeks "hope scrolling" through political news, including Electoral-Vote.com, on November 4 it was more than that; I was "glee scrolling."
S.H. in Raleigh, NC, writes: You wrote that the pollsters and aggregators did a good job—but you ONLY talked about picking winners. That is NOT how one should view polling.
How far were they off in their final projections from actual polling results? I would appreciate a note on how far the numerical results were skewed.
Early on, I was looking for evidence of any systemic errors that might impact the later races. My fear was that a 3-point skew too far toward the left could be devastating. Instead, the first races where 90% of the vote was in, (and most of the early-voting skew had been washed away), I was seeing a LOT of races where the polls had UNDERestimated the Democrats.
If the final tallies were understating Democratic numbers by 4 or 5 points, that was NOT a good night for pollsters. I read somewhere the aggregate skew was 3.8 toward blue in all 3 of the Trump-on-ballot elections (they NEVER got that fixed), but the midterms during those same years, the midterm skew was less than 1%—THAT is pollsters nailing it.
D.M. in Medical Lake, WA, writes: There haven't been, and won't be, many people saying that the polls were wrong this time around. But they were more wrong than they were in 2024. In 2024, the election results were mostly within the margins of error of the polls, though based on the polls, many people expected (D) wins that turned out to be narrow (R) wins. Tuesday, they were mostly outside the margins of error. For example, in Texas the polls for the senatorial election showed a very close expectation. The election was a blowout.
J.A. in Amherst, MA, writes: Let me offer an assessment of how well Cook Political Report did in their projections:
Senate
- Likely and Lean D: 5 of 5
- Likely and Lean R: 2 of 4
- Toss-up: 4 of 6 (based on a standard +/- 3% per candidate, or +/- 6% for the ultimate difference)
House
- Their Solid+Likely+Lean D was 222. If you add one-half of the 18 Toss-ups, you get a projection of 231. They were way off, by roughly the sum of the remaining half of the Toss-ups (9) and the Leaning R (18).
I'd say, like the pollsters, they underestimated the enthusiasm/apathy gap between the parties.
G.R. in Eugene, OR, writes: Heading into the election, especially in the last few days, the numbers kept looking better and better, yet we all couldn't really believe it. How many times has the American electorate proven to be bigoted and apathetic! The pollsters that have to tweak their models and make myriad small decisions to generate their numbers are not immune to personal biases. In a wave election, "prudent" decision making might just make the pollsters a little "shy" of forecasting a blowout. Seems to me this was about a 2-3% effect this time around, enough to pick up South Carolina and Mississippi senators (if it happens) and sweep up many House seats Democrats were not expecting to get.
J.C. in Arlington, VA, writes: You wrote: "Nobody cares much about a golf course, and it would certainly be an appropriate way to remember a president who played golf something like 1,000 times during his term." To the contrary, the existing golf course is accessible to the average person in D.C. and is very popular. Haines Point is a very popular recreational area for the residents of the city, regardless of money. Let him put his National Golf Course in Florida. Or maybe North Dakota.
C.H. in West Linn, OR, writes: For the last ten years I've had this thought in the back of my head: Is Donald Trump trying to destroy the GOP? I'm not into conspiracy theories, but...
B.L. in Mountain View, CA, writes: An appreciation for how Mr. Trump has Made America Great Again by putting on such an excruciating sh**show that a sufficiently large fraction of the country came, at least temporarily, to their senses.
P.S. in Toronto, ON, Canada, writes: Why didn't Trump fight?
I think you're severely discounting his malignant narcissism.
He's probably taking great pleasure in this because "see, they can't win if I'm not on the ballot."
J.P. in West Dover, VT, writes: I never was interested in watching The Apprentice, but an overseas friend highly recommended it. This movie makes things we already knew but are still hearing today makes everything so tangible.
(V) & (Z) respond: It is definitely... instructive.
J.W. in Los Angeles, CA, writes: It may be that the election results will finally put to rest any noise of Donald Trump running for a third term. Rather than go along with the scam, as so many Republicans have done over the last 2 years, they will more than likely shut down that noise. We can't discount the possibility that Trump may not have run out his nine lives, but we should be able to put this particular nonsense to rest.
J.B. in Chicago, IL, writes: I would like to recommend to readers of this site the revival of usage of an old word not much used in the past century. Thoreau uses it a few times in Walden, and that is where I first saw it:
trumpery trump·er·y (trəmp(ə)rē) archaic noun; plural—trumperies
Attractive articles of little value or use; practices or beliefs that are superficially or visually appealing but have little real value or worth. Showy but worthless. "trumpery jewelry"
Delusive or shallow. "that trumpery hope which lets us dupe ourselves"
(Origin) late Middle English (denoting trickery): from Old French tromperie, from tromper 'deceive.'
K.J. in Pittsburgh, PA, writes: The corollary to your answer about MAGA Republicans is that the disproportionately fearful party will always be the conservative party. Conservatives fear change. Even those without an exaggerated fear response are more likely to have been successful in the status quo and are interested in keeping it. Many conservatives have left the Republican Party because it has become the chaos party under Trump.
R.L.D. in Sundance, WY, writes: I do understand the impulse to lay all the blame for the blue tsunami at Donald Trump's feet, but I hasten to point out that at any time, the Republican Senators and Congressfolk could have stood up and said "no more" in the past 10 years. Instead, they sniveled and groveled instead of standing up for their oaths of office. Trump certainly carries a lot of responsibility for the current situation, but I really don't want to let the rest of the GOP officeholders escape accountability for not doing everything they could to rein him in. They aren't just getting punished for Trump's sins. They are getting punished for their own failures, too.
Regarding voter suppression by election "monitors," apparently the Trump Administration sent people to one of the less-red counties in Wyoming during the primaries and... it didn't go well. Election workers didn't roll over and just let these yahoos have their way. And if you can't rely on Wyoming officials to roll-over like Fido and let you get away with shenanigans at the polling place, what chance is there of having any effect in California or New York or Pennsylvania? Slim and none. Wyoming stood in the breach and held. You're welcome.
R.H. in Zagreb, Croatia, writes: The Republicans are deluding themselves if they think the Iran War is the defining reason they lost on Tuesday. If that were true, how do they explain the harbinger results in New Jersey and, especially, Virginia last year when the Republicans got creamed in the state legislature? That was before Trump attacked Iran.
While the Iran war and its impact on gas prices helped turn a blue wave into a tsunami, that wave was already building for other reasons. My guess is it was misguided tariffs and even more importantly the intentional cruelty of the Administration's immigration/deportation policy. So maybe promoting Stephen Miller isn't a great idea.
R.H.M. in North Haven, CT, writes: I'm reading these post-election articles in which various Republicans blame Donald Trump for the disastrous beating the party just took. They are right to blame him. Never has a president unilaterally taken so many actions that contributed so directly to the conditions that have made people upset. As noted in the New York Times article to which you linked:
They cited Mr. Trump's tariff policies. They pointed to his decision to take the country to an unpopular war in Iran that drove up prices. And they questioned his political instincts, arguing that he had imperiled his party's chances by supporting weak candidates and going on an unconvincing tour in the final weeks of the campaign.This is all true. But it doesn't go far enough. Republicans need to spend a little more time looking in the mirror. Virtually everything that Trump has done could have been stopped or at least blunted by the Republican Party. They could have convicted him after the January 6 impeachment. They could have taken away his right to impose tariffs. They could have voted to end the war. They could have refused to approve his worst nominees. They chose not to. Every action taken by Trump that led to this electoral collapse was permitted by a Republican Congress that refused to stand up to him. So yes, Trump is the captain of this disaster. But instead of using the lifeboats, the Republican party chose to lash themselves to the mast and go down with the ship. Blaming Trump is not enough. They need to display some awareness of their complicity.
S.P. in Harrisburg, PA, writes: From a Republican standpoint, I put the blame for the election results on two people: Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). Trump, inasmuch as the Iran War impacted gas prices and affordability. He had a very good first year this term, then he went into Venezuela and led a very successful mission to remove the dictator there. That gave him a false confidence for Iran, and it has become a complete mess with no end in sight. Gas prices jumped, as did prices of groceries and consumer goods, which outweigh any benefit from the war. From the President who promised an end to never-ending wars, not a good move.
John Thune was a spineless leader, who was too afraid to take on something controversial in the Senate, such as the SAVE act. Then, at every opportunity, they take another vacation. So the Republican trifecta, with a 53-seat Senate majority, was largely a huge wasted opportunity. Conservatives better pray that Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito last 10 more years!
A.H.-S. in Brier, WA, writes: What the GOP will perform is less an autopsy and more a vivisection.
D.H. in Durham, NC, writes: As a Presbyterian minister and life-long member of the Christian Left, I very much appreciated your analysis and commentary in the Freudenfreude this week. The word I would add to any discussion of white "Christian" nationalism or the prosperity "gospel" is: heresy. My own terminology for the radical inclusivity of Jesus that you noted is that Jesus was always expanding the circle. Thus any attempt to make the circle smaller is not the way of Jesus Christ; and the usage of Scripture to define a smaller circle does violence to the text. It has long been my contention that Trump has done almost as much harm to the Church as he has to the country (although much of that is self-inflicted, obviously). I hope and pray that what we saw on Tuesday is the beginning of a renewal for both.
B.R.D. in Columbus, OH, writes: You are absolutely right that the scriptural basis for prosperity gospel is tenuous to non-existent. But it sounds an awful lot like Calvinist theology to me. Early U.S. faith geared to elevating the wealthy and denigrating the poor, elevating the white male and denigrating the "seductive" female, famously written about in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novels, notably The Scarlet Letter.
B.P. in Pensacola, FL, writes: Thank you for this week's Freudenfreude. Since the book of the Acts of the Apostles is, in essence "Luke II" (or maybe "II Luke") as a continuation of the Gospels written by the same person who wrote Luke and describing events shortly after Jesus' death, you get to "radical inclusivity" pretty quickly. The first example is the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-8:39) where Philip baptizes "a man of Ethopia, a eunuch." In first century Palestine, the term "eunuch" was not as limited as we consider it today; it was much more inclusive of anyone who was, basically, not a cisgender heterosexual (it also meant high ranking court officials too, to be fair). The story also relates back to Isaiah 56:35, and indeed the Ethiopian eunuch was reading from the book of Isaiah when he meets Philip:
Do not let the foreigner who has bound himself to the Lord say, "The Lord will surely exclude me from his people." And do not let the eunuch say, "I am only a dry tree." For this is what the Lord says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever."It is challenging to read that story, and the intentional reference to Isaiah within it, and draw the conclusions about LGBTQ people that many who profess to be Christians have drawn.
The second is the story of Peter's dream (Acts 10:9-10:20) and his recounting of the lesson from the dream (Acts 11:1-11:18) that led to the radical expansion of "The Way" to those who were ritually "unclean" in then-Jewish tradition because God showed Peter that nothing made by God is "unclean"—notably including other people. Some focus on only the first part (which was about eating unclean food, therefore we can now enjoy shrimp, crab, and lobster) and ignore the second, where Peter directly applies the lesson to people.
Your general point about certain flavors of Christianity focusing on Old Testament sin and wrath, and then jumping to Revelation, is spot-on. But those who ignore what is in between will unfortunately miss the vast majority of what Jesus (and those who knew Him) actually said and did.
B.C. in Phoenix, AZ, writes: You are correct in saying the Apocalypse is not nigh, but do not read too much into that fact. It does not mean there is a sea change in Southern politics; it simply reflects the regular seesawing of age-related voting habits as a result of religious beliefs.
The core belief of Christianity has always been that either you believe in Jesus as your lord and savior or else you will forfeit your life to either death or burning in Hell for eternity. So, devout Christian beliefs are essentially powered by fear. The Gen Z members who turned out to vote Democratic in the midterms are somewhat insulated from that fear because of their distance in time from old age. Young people believe they are immortal and do not usually accept the cranky old views of their elders. So, they are generally more amenable to alternative life styles and belief systems.
But 40 years from now, when I have begun my dirt nap and the Gen Z population of today can see the Grim Reaper approaching, things will change dramatically. Just as what is happening to a lot of my peers today, many of them will reject fact and reason and accept the cowardly side of Pascal's wager. And those that do not hedge their bets in that manner will keep quiet in the name of "religious tolerance."
However, their silence will not be an effective deterrent to a religion which holds unproven ideas to be fact. This will lead to the same sort of rise in Christian Nationalism we are experiencing today. In fact, we can see that the bigoted world view powered by fear has not really diminished too much after the midterm blue wave when the Orange Donny replaces the elderly Susan Wiles with the much younger Joseph Goebbels Stephen Miller as his chief of staff.
B.K.J. in San Diego, CA, writes: So all those Forecasters were right about the "mother of all El Niños" after all?
A.F. in Boston, MA, writes: The walls of the White House ran red with Heinz on Wednesday morning.
M.H. in MH Salt Lake City, UT, writes: Enjoy!
D.S. in Layton, UT, writes: Tuesday thoughts:
R.E.M. in Brooklyn, NY, writes: Tuesday night, Godot arrived in Texas.
R.W. in Brooklyn, NY, writes: You wrote: "Latinos turned blue in response to ICE."
I see what you did there!
A.S. in Lenora Hills, CA, writes: You wrote: "It is at least possible that, once the hurt of this week has faded, Trump and Miller could calm down a bit, and be more willing to act like adults and actually govern."
That might be the funniest joke you've made this year, possibly this decade.
B.N. in Wilsonville, OR, writes: I am afraid I have to take exception to the term "incompetent boobs" that you have used to describe Trump's acolytes. I don't think I have ever known boobs that aren't fully in control of a situation. To compare them to the malignant idiots in Trump's circle is a great disservice to them. My wife's, for example, are quite competent and have successfully run our relationship and my life for many many years.
J.A. in Forest, VA, writes: I've been referring to Stephen Miller as Nosferatu (because we all get the faces we deserve), but I guess now Sejanus is more appropriate. Trump is Tiberius.
(V) & (Z) respond: "Iago" also works.
M.W. in Columbus, OH, writes: Just a quick question. Do you have any idea who will be covering White House Chief of Staff duties during daylight hours? You know, while Stephen Miller is sleeping in his coffin.
C.Z. in Sacramento, CA, writes: Enjoy the "Ballad of Stephen Miller":
Very catchy country western song.
D.R. in Cincinnati, OH, writes: Donald Trump said that, if the Democrats win, you will send little Jimmy to school one day and he will come back as a girl. Also, boys will be playing in girls sports. It already happened to my family. My little boy played football in middle school, ran track and cross-country in 9th grade, but on Wednesday, he came home and told me that he was signing up for volleyball. When I told him that was a girls sport, he said, "No, they have boys volleyball now."
K.R. in Austin, TX, writes: They were right! When I dropped off my governor at the Capitol, he was a boy named Greg. When I went to pick him up, my governor was now a girl named Gina.
N.W. in Culver City, CA, writes: A little post-election humor: "Inside the Democrat Socialist Antifa Communist Cabal."
C.E. in Murrysville, PA, writes: Voters: Klaatu Barada Nikto.
J.B. in Brossard, QC, Canada, writes: The province of Quebec, Canada, had an election in October and the ruling party was wiped out, losing all 79 out of 125 seats they had at dissolution. A scandal-ridden government got the boot. We did elect a separatist government—however, currently, 69% of Quebecers do not want to separate from Canada.
Unlike the U.S., spending on elections in Canada is significantly controlled. I did see this sign in my neighbourhood, which in theory, may have been illegal:
M.K. in New York City, NY, writes: Developer here: Another way to clear cache is to append something to the URL. For example: append "&" and a random number. That not only clears it client-side, but server-side as well.
G.B. in Plymouth, MN, writes: Your Tuco doesn't have anything over my Harley. Ugh.
A.T. in Quincy, IL, writes: Back in the early 2010s, I took a semester of animation with a rather jovial instructor (Jim Middleton, if you care to look him up—also taught pharmacy at Western Michigan University... Kalamazoo, I think), who actually encouraged his students to use the "dog ate my homework" excuse if they couldn't complete an assignment.
I mention this merely as prelude to my point. Of course, I would NEVER wish ill outcomes on you or your students, but likely couldn't resist a chuckle to learn of a teacher having to tell his class:
I'm sorry, but the dog ate your homework.
M.M. in San Diego, CA, writes: Have you tried giving Tuco a couple (different sized) rag bones? (Folks I know who work with leather say never give dogs rawhide chews, because they will develop a taste for leather.)
Handle rag bones a bit so they have your scent, then use the bones to play with him daily. If he's still teething, they might appeal texture-wise, and/or if he's anxious when alone, he may be reassured that you are returning because you have left behind YOUR favorite toy. Maybe.
Of course, crate training would limit him to just chewing up the bedding in the crate...
(Z) responds: We are already on crate bed #4.
G.K. in Blue Island, IL, writes: You are assuming that friable foam stuffing is not sentient and collectively filled with evil intent.
That's okay. Easy mistake to make.
(Z) responds: Good thing Tuco saw through the ruse.
T.B. in Los Angeles, CA, writes: Not the last words of his life, but the last words of Dick Tuck's 1966 California state Senate campaign, and a phrase I bet a lot of Republicans were uttering (in some form) this week: "The people have spoken—the bastards."
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