Former Vice President Kamala Harris explained one year ago, on November 5, after conceding the presidential race to Donald Trump, “When we fight, we win, but sometimes the fight takes a while.”
One year later, after the November 4 election, the fight she mentioned is starting to show.
Democrats all over the country stood up on Tuesday night with the hope and joy that they had wished to feel last year. As much as local elections are not important, major gubernatorial, retention, and mayoral races took place nationally, which were significant to the growth and change of the Democratic Party and the country.
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court was seeking retention for three out of seven judges. Retention is the vote to keep candidates on the ballot after their term has come to an end. It is a re-election.
According to NBC News, the Democratic Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht won retention. The Democrats will continue to hold the majority in the court, 5-2.
Mikie Sherrill becomes the first Democratic female Governor of New Jersey. Sherrill was endorsed by former President Barack Obama and has had the state’s support from the beginning, as it is a well-known blue state. This is most significant for the Democratic Party because she is a female.
According to NBC, Sherrill gained votes from non-white citizens. During his presidential run a year ago, Trump gained Hispanic and Asian American votes. During the elections this year, Sherrill had a significant percentage of votes from those ethnicities, which potentially shows the tides have — at the very least — started to shift.
Virginia also elected their first female Democratic Governor, Abigail Spanberger. There is a saying that the “future is female,” but it seems the present has brought some empowerment for all women across the country. With Virginia being the start of what Americans typically consider the South region, it is an important victory for the Democrats.
The real question is, what does this mean for the following elections during the current Trump term?