Democrats Suffered a Devastating Loss. Democracy didn’t.
There’s still a slim chance to protect it. Let’s hang in there and fight to save it.
Instead of delivering a blowout to the left, Americans delivered one to the right. The remaining question is whether Republicans will complete the trifecta by gaining full control of the House, Senate, and Presidency.
As of now, that outcome remains uncertain. When I began writing this, Republicans had secured 193 House seats, while Democrats held 173. There is still a chance for Democrats to retain the House. However, it will take more time for the final results to come in, so, unfortunately, we have to wait a bit longer.
We’ll have ample time to analyze what went wrong. At first glance, it seems the 12-year trend of Hispanic voters shifting rightward may have been instrumental in delivering both the Presidency and the Senate to the GOP. Exit polls from Texas show incumbent Senator Ted Cruz winning Latino voters by 6 points — a notable shift, as he lost them by nearly 30 points in 2018. That’s a swing of nearly 35 points toward the GOP.
A significant number of Hispanic voters are working-class Americans, and the GOP’s populist messaging resonates with them. This shift has been compounded by Democrats’ tendency to view them primarily…