Democrats Have A Good Election Day

Tonight, the results came in. American voters have spoken.

They firmly supported Democrats. The most notable for me personally is the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York. As of this writing, he has received a bit over 50% of the vote

Cuomo received over 40% while Sliwa received around 7%, including via his Protect Animals line. Mamdani said that Cuomo didn't send the usual complimentary victory message, though Sliwa did. 

Fox News (local NYC channel) referenced that Cuomo couldn't even pronounce Mamdani's name correctly in his concession speech. Sliwa also ran on a "Protect Animals" line. Someone else ran on the Conservative Party line. Perhaps, Mamdani can find an animal-related position, including involving feral cats, one of Sliwa's causes. 

Women played a major role here. The new governors of New Jersey and Virginia (both with convincing wins) will be women. Also, along with the new Muslim mayor of NY:

Ghazala Hashmi wins Virginia lieutenant governor’s race, becoming first Muslim woman elected statewide

Zohran Mamdani voted "Yes" on ballot measures 1-5 that were on the ballot in NYC, and those won. The sixth ballot measure to change off-year elections lost. It would not have been final, anyway, since the state legislature has to do it. I was a bit wary about the housing measures, but that's fine.

Anti-trans messaging failed this time around. It might best be noted that it didn't change other trends. The message appears to be anti-Trump, supporting Democrats, and progressive policies. 

The messaging there was mixed. Mamdani stood out. But it does provide a lesson about enthusiasm. House Minority Leader Jeffries, at the end, endorsed Mamdani (yippe) while Schumer couldn't even do that. He didn't say who he voted for. Sheesh.

Mamdani is not a "literal communist," which is now the framing. He is a self-labeled socialist, which is not horrible. I look forward to seeing how he does and hope net his administration is positive. Eric Adams is not a high bar, even if he has some positive policies.

I worked at the polls, checking in voters. We have ten days of early voting. We still had a respectable turnout in our neighborhood polling place. The whole process continues to impress me and provide some civic pride. Many fulfilled their civic obligations. 

A Texan parental rights amendment passed. The text seems rather benign, though various liberal leaning groups opposed it. For instance, literally, the amendment seems to help parents of trans people. OTOH, trans groups also opposed the amendment.

After 13 years, Mississippi Democrats have broken the Republican Party’s supermajority in the Mississippi Senate. Voters elected Democrats to two seats previously held by Republicans, reducing the number of Republican senators in the upper chamber from 36 to 34—one fewer than necessary to constitute a supermajority.

I will end with this symbolic bit of good news. After all, it is not like the legislature would logically often need to overrule a veto or something. 

Still, supermajorities do have more power, and that might help limit the damage in some cases. For instance, supermajorities make it easier to propose constitutional amendments. Most significantly, it is a message against extremism and the ability of others to have a voice. 

Liberals have victories in places you least expect. For instance, criminal justice reform has occurred throughout the nation. The wins were often in places, though the breadth was particularly significant; you expect Democrats to win (but see Pennsylvania and Trump's wins there), so that's nice too. 

Back to New York City, for the second time in so many election cycles, my city council district switched political parties. I was concerned, I even sent them an email, about the lack of campaign signs in my neighborhood. They were available on Election Day to hand out literature near the polls. The Democrat won, however, perhaps some Mamdani coattails. 

One major issue for the Republican incumbent was opposition to a health program for former prisoners. I was particularly angry about that. Overall, she seemed to do okay, but I'm fine with her losing. Anyway, the already small Republican NYC City Council delegation will now be smaller.  

A couple of final comments. The personal factor played a significant role, in various degrees, in the Democrats' wins. They had impressive life stories. They ran good campaigns. They connected to the voters in ways Republicans often did not.

Finally, can the new Arizona congresswoman be sworn in already, please?