Our Wins Of The Week...Yes, There Were Some

Our Wins of the Week piece is usually open to our paid subscribers only, but after this week we wanted to make sure everyone had a least a little glimmer of positivity in their inbox. Should you choose to upgrade your subscription today to support our work, we would be incredibly appreciative! Regardless, please enjoy this roundup of bright spots from an otherwise dismal week — we hope they inspire you the way they inspired us.

Tuesday’s election was devastating. Kamala Harris was a better candidate in every way, and more importantly, she would have been a phenomenal president. 

There’s no sugarcoating the profound loss we feel at seeing our nation choose the convicted felon and adjudicated rapist fraudster over the smart compassionate public servant and prosecutor.

But the fact is, there were some wins to come out of Tuesday that we should take to heart as we process through this past week.

For one thing, the most radical Trump-lite candidates lost on Tuesday.

You had self-described Black Nazi Mark Robinson, the Lt. Governor of North Carolina, lose to Democrat Josh Stein in that state’s Governor’s race by 15 points.

Stein’s win was dominant, even overperforming Donald Trump’s vote in the state,

And while Kamala Harris’s ground game in a swing state like North Carolina was not enough for her to overcome Trump’s support, it likely helped candidates downballot, as Democrats flipped a state legislative seat outside of Raleigh to deprive Republicans of a veto-proof supermajority.

Democrats also held onto their legislative majority in Pennsylvania.

Ended Republicans’ State Senate super-majority in Wisconsin.

And flipped a state supreme court seat in Michigan to expand the Democratic majority to 5-2.

Trump’s other favorite candidate, election denier Kari Lake, has also lost her latest bid in Arizona, this time for US Senate against Congressman Ruben Gallego.

Congratulations, Senator-elect!

And as if that weren’t enough…

We also saw the Democratic women running for U.S. Senate in swing states run the table, including Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada.

And Senator-elect Elissa Slotkin in Michigan.

We also had historic candidates win on Tuesday, including Sarah McBride who, as the lone Representative in the House of Representatives from Delaware, will become our nation’s first transgender member of Congress.

Andy Kim will become our nation’s first Korean American U.S. Senator.

Rashaun Kemp will be the first out gay Black man in the Georgia legislature.

And Amaad Rivera-Wagner will be the first out Black LGBTQ member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Abortion rights ballot initiatives largely won on Tuesday, including in deep red Missouri and Montana.

Missouri voters also passed an increase in the minimum wage and paid sick leave:

And Nebraska voters approved a paid sick leave initiative.

It’s clear that despite Donald Trump’s win, Democratic candidates and issues thrived down the ballot. And as for the policies Trump will put in place, Democratic governors around the country stand ready to resist.

Including Governor Pritzker in Illinois.

Governor Healey in Massachusetts.

And Governor Gavin Newsom in California.

And that includes in the U.S. Senate, while Democrats still hold a majority.

As Senator Elizabeth Warren has urged:

Take care of yourselves this week, friends. And here’s to a renewed resistance.