The Five Best Results For Democrats and Progressives From Election Night 2019

By Shane Ryan  |  November 6, 2019 | 8:55am
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Politics Features Election Night 2019
The Five Best Results For Democrats and Progressives From Election Night 2019

We’re officially one year away from the critical 2020 election, and in many respects Tuesday night’s results will be viewed as a bellwether for what might happen next November. If the harbingers are accurate, this was a very good night for Democrats, and an even better one for progressives. Below are the most encouraging results on a night that will increase Trump’s already considerable anxiety as he faces an increasingly hostile electorate.

1. Virginia, Blessed Virginia

Speaking of bellwethers, the wisdom of the punditocracy in 2017 was that the Virginia state elections in 2017 would predict what we’d see from the 2018 midterms, and that turned out to be exactly right. So it was with some trepidation that we awaited last night’s results, because of everything that happened across the country, nothing would give us a clearer look at what to expect in 2020. The results were quite good:

And along with returning Democratic Socialist Lee Carter to the state House, Virginia voters produced this stunner in a Republican district:

Even the woman who flipped off Trump’s motorcade won!

2. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin Went Down

Trump campaigned for him, Bernie Sanders campaigned for his opponent, and this is what happened:

Meanwhile, these first two results helped dig into the number of states in the U.S. where Republicans have the so-called “trifecta,” i.e. total control over state politics:

And just for good measure, here’s a sick burn:

3. Democrats Rocked the Suburbs

This was true in Virginia, in Kentucky, and elsewhere, but the single most prominent result may have come in the wealthy (Republican) suburbs of Philadelphia, where a progressive D.A. who ran on deprivatizing the local jails took down the GOP incumbent:

In that same county, Democrats also took the city council for the first time since before the Civil War. Seriously. All of this looks very poor for Trump’s chances at repeating his Pennsylvania win. Also, since we’re talking about bellwethers and suburbs, this is a terrific result from Missouri:

4. Trump Is Coming Off Desperate

There’s really no way to polish this turd, but our president is doing his damnedest on the Twitter machine, and remarkably, he’s trying to spin Kentucky as a positive:

Hmmm, about that….

5. Ranked Choice Voting Passes in NYC

Read…me…on why ranked choice voting is so important.

BONUS: The Women of Statesboro, GA

Not the biggest result of the night, sure, but it’s still great to see headlines like this:

About time, Statesboro!

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