The Blue Wave came on Election Day. With President Donald Trump’s approval rating down to an average of 37%, Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate, flipping seats in states as red as Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, and South Carolina. The Democratic Party will start the new year with its largest House majority in nearly two decades and its largest Senate majority in more than a decade.
Are the Democrats prepared for this new reality—and the even more enticing prospect of reclaiming the White House in 2029? Three questions loom large:
What can and must be done to repair the damage to democracy and minimize the danger that an aspiring autocrat can once again severely degrade if not destroy American democracy?
What will the Democrats do to respond to voters’ concerns about high consumer prices, diminishing job opportunities, decaying infrastructure, and unaffordability of housing and other key components of a middle-class life?
What will be the political approach of a new Democratic majority? Will they try to build new coalitions from the center out that win over some Republican members of Congress, or will they meet polarization with polarization by trying to force through legislation with narrow majorities, even if it requires eliminating the Senate filibuster?
