Well, this sucks. The American people have decided to elect a convicted felon over a woman. Republicans also regained control of the Senate, and while Democrats may still flip the House, it’s looking bleak. But for liberals, Tuesday’s election did manage to bring some small wins:
• In North Carolina, Democrat Josh Stein won the governor’s race, defeating the “Black Nazi” Mark Robinson. Stein will be the first Jewish governor in the state’s history. Democrats also won every major executive branch race in the state.
• Democrat Sarah McBride won her race to represent Delaware in the House, becoming the first openly transgender person to be elected to Congress.
• While Florida’s abortion rights ballot measure failed, most of the states that were deciding on abortion rights amendments voted in favor of them. Even in Missouri, the first state to ban abortion after Roe v. Wade fell, residents voted for an amendment to enshrine abortion rights.
• Democrat Angela Alsobrooks beat out Republican Larry Hogan for the Maryland Senate race, meaning there will be two Black women in the Senate for the first time ever. Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester also won her race in Delaware, where she’ll be the first woman, and the first Black American, to represent the state in the Senate. Together, they double the number of Black women ever elected to the chamber.
• New Jersey elected Democrat Andy Kim to the Senate; he will be the first Korean American to serve as a senator, taking over the seat vacated by Bob Menendez. He is also the first Asian American senator the state has elected.
• Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who has been prosecuting Trump for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, was reelected.
• Democrat Monique Worrell won her seat back as a state attorney in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis had previously pushed her out.
• The state of Washington voted to keep its aggressive Climate Commitment Act, which requires companies to cut carbon emissions.
• In Illinois, voters overwhelmingly approved a measure recommending mandatory insurance coverage for IVF and approved a referendum to create a new tax bracket for those who make more than $1 million.
• Elon Musk cannot be president.
