Oh, what a night. I don’t think my phone has ever buzzed so much over the course of 12 consecutive hours — family group text, friend chats, Signal alerts, email pings. To be honest, I fell asleep on the early side and the last text I sent before nodding off was, “So goes Georgia, so goes the rest of the country.”
Indeed. That sentiment has long been part of our nation’s story, the long arc toward justice and pursuit of democracy, and now I dare say it translates to its most inspirational and aspirational version. So many decades of ground game by local organizers, the visionary determination of Stacey Abrams, the unswerving leadership of Sens. Raphael Warnock and the newly re-elected Jon Ossoff, brought us to this moment: the first Black governor — a Black woman, Keisha Lance Bottoms — who will serve alongside two more barrier-breaking Black women, Penny Brown Reynolds as secretary of state and Tanya Miller as attorney general.
The scene ricocheted across the country with so many truly breathtaking wins, from Ohio to Kansas, from South Carolina to Texas (TEXAS!). More than 100 Democratic women were elected to serve in the 120th Congress. New Mexico elected its first Native American woman governor, Texas elected its first Latina governor, Ohio elected its first woman governor, Michigan elected its second consecutive woman governor. Sen. Susan Collins was finally voted out in Maine. That the Democrats saw such a wide array of candidates win — and win big — each motivated by different issues and supported by multiple constituencies? There is so much to unpack. Please, please party pundits, hear our plea and take the time to get all these variables right.
Ballot initiative outcomes underscore some of the challenges of now reading the tea leaves. Virginia voters were full-throated about strengthening individual liberties: they codified protections for abortion by enshrining reproductive freedom in the state constitution — an exponentially important move, as people across the South in abortion ban states now must depend on Virginia for care — and also reinforced the right to same-sex marriage. For the second and final time, Nevada voters passed a ballot measure to affirm reproductive rights, meeting the state requirement for a constitutional amendment. Missourians roundly rejected Amendment 3, preserving reproductive rights protections they approved just two years ago. And Vermont’s Equal Rights Amendment initiative also passed handily, strengthening the state’s anti-discrimination protection.
But there were notable losses. Idaho voters were unable to reverse the state’s ban on abortion. And anti-trans ballot measures to forbid participation in girl’s and women’s school sports teams, along with other related restrictions, passed in Arizona and Nebraska. (Measures in Colorado and Washington are still being tallied.)
Here’s my own (slightly Contrarian) take. It gives me some degree of satisfaction and optimism that there is no singular pattern for the Democrats to lean on — no clear mandate about the DSA or moderate candidates. Rather, the party needs to now do the hard work of threading it all together and developing the platform and candidates that will best serve us all. I welcome that exercise and, for the first time in ages, look forward to what lies ahead in the lead up to 2028.
Certainly, that doesn’t mean we can expect docility or repentance from MAGA. Yes, the whiplash is real after months of President Trump sowing doubt about the integrity of elections and using the force of the federal government to “flood the zone” with threats and interference. Trump’s uncharacteristic compliance and cheerful acceptance of the results is surely a ruse. As Jill Filipovic wrote this morning, “Don’t expect Trump the lame duck. Expect a vengeful, isolated, mentally crumbling man grabbing as much power as he can get.”
The administration wields massive power, and I’d be shocked if it held back, even in the face of a Democratic Congress. Women’s and reproductive health are the issue I’m most closely watching. Federal agencies are poised to wreak massive damage in the coming months, and this threat is not overstated. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported on myriad ways the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission intends to roll back workplace protections for pregnant women afforded by the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, especially and including around abortion and in-vitro fertilization. The Food and Drug Administration is on the verge of curtailing and potentially cutting access to mifepristone with its forthcoming so-called “safety” report, now due in March. The Justice Department has pledged to make Dobbs “permanent in every single state.” Without the pressure of an election year, Trump has little to lose and a vindictive legacy to fulfill. Federal agency action is one way Trump and his team will ram their agenda through.
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And still. It is a bright new day. A friend texted this morning that waking up felt like “vindication a decade in the making.” When Trump was re-elected in 2024, it was hard to imagine the particular torrent of abuses that would follow — and even more so that the American people would see through them, finally, two years later. That really is good news.
Now the work is on all of us to make the most of this opportunity and deliver. For all of us. And for democracy. Happy post-Election Day, Contrarians!
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf is executive director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at NYU School of Law. She also leads strategy and partnerships at Ms. Magazine.
