WaPo:
Congressional Republicans panic as they watch their lead dwindle
Private consternation reached a public boiling point Friday as lawmakers in both chambers confronted the fallout from Tuesday’s elections
With control of the House and Senate still undecided, angry Republicans mounted public challenges to their leaders in both chambers Friday as they confronted the possibility of falling short of the majority, eager to drag Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) down from their top posts as consequence.
Mood.
Mood.
But the mood is not without the knives.
Politico:
‘They completely f--ked up’: How the GOP lost its grip on the Senate majority
Democrats held the chamber despite a series of obstacles. And they couldn’t have done it without Republicans blowing winnable races.
Midterms are invariably stacked against the party in power, so Democrats had to run ahead of Biden’s low approval ratings and confront rising prices. That wasn’t always easy; as their candidates sought to connect with voters about the pain of inflation, top Democrats working on Senate campaigns recalled privately grimacing when the White House touted positive statistics about the economy.
Yet in a bright spot for Democrats, their Senate candidates raised record-breaking sums. That allowed the DSCC to spend more money on field and voter programs than on TV ads for the first time in modern history.
More mood. You can laugh when you win:
Dan Balz/WaPo:
In election 2022, the party of Trump pays for being the party of Trump
Trump has changed politics in many ways, and Republicans paid a price for it Tuesday. His presence has created an energized electorate. Since he was elected, huge voter turnouts have become the norm: a midterm record in 2018, a presidential-year record in 2020 and a near record again this year. Midterm elections usually mean complacency among voters whose party just won the White House. In the age of Trump, every election is consequential, and both sides come highly motivated.
WSJ:
Why Independent Voters Broke for Democrats in the Midterms
GOP candidates closely aligned with Trump turned off some centrists and in-play Republicans
Republicans succeeded in one of their top goals this year: They brought more of their party’s voters to the polls than did Democrats. But in the course of energizing their core voters, Republicans in many states lost voters in the political center—both independents and many Republicans who are uneasy with elements of the party’s focus under Mr. Trump.
Persuasion works.
I'm no hotshot analyst but I will say it is gratifying that things I cared deeply about, and thought the voters should, too... well, the voters did. And yeah, abortion is more than a “hook” but don’t jump on him, he’s right.
Whatever you think of him as an orator, history will recognize both the historic midterm win and the political instincts he brings to the table many take for granted. How many politicians stay quiet when they need to stay quiet? Hint: it’s not about them if they are not running.
And speaking of orators, Ron DeSantis is no showman. Here’s Brian Klass on Substack:
Will Republicans Defy Trump’s Authoritarian Cult of Personality?
The pundits are going to tell you that Trump is now toast. Don't listen to them.
These dynamics are further amplified because Trump—a veteran of WWE wrestling—understands that modern tribal politics are akin to professional wrestling. It’s about the entertainment, and for that, you need an entertainer. Ron DeSantis may indeed be the 2024 presidential nominee, but without the rockstar-style performances that Trump’s supporters love about him, DeSantis just comes off as a meaner, more boring version of him.
Jill Lawrence/NBC Think:
Ron DeSantis has a messiah complex. Will it do him in?
The battle of outsize egos between the Florida governor and Donald Trump could ruin them both long before Election Day 2024.
DeSantis made a solid bid to be America’s redeemer in chief in a video his wife posted Nov. 4 on Twitter. “And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a protector.’ So God made a fighter,” the narrator says over an image of DeSantis among adoring fans.
God is mentioned 10 times in less than two minutes in the clip, prompting Mike Allen of Axios to publish a parody in his publication’s trademarked “smart brevity” format:
Breaking: God apparently endorsed Ron DeSantis (R) for reelection, according to the Florida governor’s new ad.
· Why it matters: It would be the first time God officially endorsed a statewide candidate.
WaPo:
Democrats surged to flip state legislatures, defying past GOP gains
The victories blunted Republican plans to push further restrictions on abortion, transgender rights, school curriculums and spending, and in some states expanded Democrats’ possibilities of passing their own priorities.
Among the newly elected in districts that were key to the Democratic surge in Pennsylvania’s House was Tim Brennan, who prevailed by 5,000 votes against a Republican opponent who had worked for state legislators who opposed abortion rights and supported voting restrictions.
Brennan, 45, who lives in Bucks County, a Philadelphia suburb, had run unsuccessfully in 2018 and lost in the primary by 55 votes. After the 2020 election, he served as an attorney for a local county where Donald Trump challenged the results. He credited his win Tuesday to the 10,000 doors he personally knocked, out of 40,000 by his campaign, and voters splitting their tickets because of an aversion to extremist Republican candidates, especially GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano.
Dan Shafer/Substack:
15 Takeaways from the 2022 Midterm Election in Wisconsin
The suburban shift accelerates, the red WOW wall crumbles, Dane County is a turnout powerhouse, Mandela Barnes got *so close*, a missed opportunity in western Wisconsin and much more.
Wisconsin’s midterm elections in 2022 saw mixed results at the top of the ticket with incumbent Democrat Tony Evers and incumbent Republican Ron Johnson both winning re-election.
But despite history being on the GOP’s side in this midterm year, Democrats in many ways exceeded expectations in the state, winning crucial legislative victories, preventing a Republican supermajority in the legislature, and winning other statewide races like the one for Attorney General.
As always, there is much to be learned from these election results, and we’re going to get into a whole lot of it.
Let’s recombobulate.
Jonathan Cohn/HuffPost:
What It Was Like To Ride The Blue Wave On Election Day
A journey across Michigan, from the places that shunned Gretchen Whitmer and the Democrats to the ones that made them victorious
The campaign hoped it would be a victory rally. But Whitmer’s lead in the public polls had shrunk from double digits to single, with some surveys reporting a lead of just 1 or 2 percentage points. Dixon’s supporters were flooding social media with gleeful, sometimes taunting messages about the impending wipeout for Whitmer.
They were difficult to ignore, especially with Democratic prospects across the country apparently diminishing at the same time. The party had fallen behind in the generic congressional polls, while modeling from outfits like FiveThirtyEight were predicting a Republican takeover of both House and Senate, as well as key state positions, for the first time in months.
But at 8 p.m., the polls closed in most of Michigan, as they did in many other states. And soon a very different storyline emerged. Around the country, it was about a red wave that never materialized. In Michigan, it was about a blue wave that made history.
By the way, and for something completely different, I wanted to throw in this item out of interest, as we’ve been following the meatpacking industry saga for a while. From unsafe labor during COVID to political influence to higher prices, it’s a topic worth following. Now this from the Daily Mail: Child labor in America IS real: Dozens of KIDS - including a 13-year-old with 'caustic chemical burns' - are pictured working as slaughterhouse cleaners in Nebraska and Minnesota.
A small cabal of companies control the market and are politically influential. Hopefully we don’t see regulations gutted everywhere with this election result. All administrations play politics with big donors.
And remember: politics is a vehicle for policy. You usually can’t vote directly on policy, so you gotta do the politics first.