by Gregg Chadwick
For the first time in two years, I had a deeply restful sleep last night. After watching anti-union and anti-education Scott Walker fall to Tony Evers in Wisconsin and viewing Harley Rouda's lead over Russian stooge Dana Rohrabacher in CA 48, I felt hopeful. My painting The Future Is Woke no longer felt aspirational - we did it! Retaking the House with a Blue Wave is the first step in restoring sanity in our nation. After last night's powerful rebuke to the blowhard in the White House, it is clear as Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey write in the Washington Post that Democrats found "a new voice, with a new generation of leaders emerging and a new playbook for winning." As Barack Obama put it: "Congratulations to everybody who showed up and participated in our democracy in record numbers yesterday. The change we need won’t come from one election alone – but it is a start. Last night, voters across the country started it."
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Voters elected the U.S.'s first Muslim congresswomen, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota (left)
Jared Polis in Colorado defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Walker Stapleton to become the first openly gay man elected governor in the U.S.(center)
Sharice Davids of Kansas and Debra Haaland of New Mexico, both Democrats, are the first Native American women elected to Congress. (right)
(photos by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images, Rick T. Wilking/Getty Images, Whitney Curtis AFP via NPR) |
NPR reports that "record numbers of Native Americans, Muslim Americans and women, including many women of color, ran for office in 2018. A "rainbow wave" of LGBTQ candidates also sought office. And after the ballots were cast, all those groups notched notable firsts." As the father of a trans daughter, I am heartened that Massachusetts passed a transgender protection law that should inspire other states to do the same. And in Florida, Amendment 4 passed easily, restoring voting rights to 1.4 million ex-felons.
Beto O'Rourke ran a hard fought campaign and was amazingly positive in defeat. Dare I say presidential? - "We just want to say thank you to everyone who made this possible. Everyone who made us feel hopeful, everyone who inspired us. Everyone who became the most amazing campaign we could have ever hoped to belong to. Grateful that we got to do this with you. We love you. Goodnight!"
All political races are important, including local school boards and state legislatures. Yesterday, Democrats flipped "seven state legislative chambers and 333 seats, adding 6 more trifectas (gov+both chambers), per DLCC." As Alex Seitz Wald noted on twitter: "Few ever pay attention to these races, but they’re important for redistributing and waves can be leveraged for major gains."
Adding to the good news, with the Democratic take over of the House, Eddie Bernice Johnson, a congresswoman with a STEM background as a nurse is poised to wrest the House Science committee from climate change deniers. She promises to "Restore the credibility of the Science Committee as a place where science is respected and recognized."
Last night, at least 10 candidates with backgrounds in science won seats, bolstering the House’s new ranks of science advocates.
