We should all be thrilled that Tuesday’s elections sent a loud and clear message that Trump and his hateful behavior, policies and actions are not acceptable to Americans and have to be stopped. Here are a few of the highlights:
1. The governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey were blowouts for the Democrats. Moreover, Democrats won many other races in those states, and the Virginia House of Delegates, with one result still pending, gained at least 13 Democrats, increasing their majority from 51-48 to 64-35.
2. California passed its Proposition 50 by a wide margin, giving Dems a fighting chance in 2026.
3. All three liberal Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices, who could have lost their positions on that Court, won by large margins.
4. Zohran Mamdani, a very loud voice against Trump, beat out Andrew Cuomo, running as an Independent and endorsed by Trump, and Curtis Sliwa (R) to achieve a majority victory. While many New Yorkers -especially of our generation -- are nervous about Mamdani, the anti-Trump message was strong and clear, and the surge in the youth vote is very encouraging.
5. In a major upset for Georgia’s state utility board, Democrats unseated two Republican incumbents to win statewide positions they have not occupied for almost 20 years.
6. A Maine ballot initiative, supported by the Republican Party, to limit absentee voting and institute voter ID failed by a 60%-40% margin. Maine also passed a red flag law allowing people to petition to remove guns from relatives they believe are dangerous.
With all the hope that these results have given us, there is a cautionary aspect to them. As one political observer writes:
[After these elections] Donald Trump will be more desperate than ever to . . . rig the 2026 midterm elections, from deploying ICE, the National Guard and the military to polling places, to relying on paramilitary assistance from the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, buying up more media outlets like CNN, attacking mail-in voting, and continuing the redistricting wars . . . . It will be on all of us to be ready for Trump’s attempted subversion of the 2026 elections when, not if, that moment comes to America.
[And] things will get more scary beyond Trump for 2026. The truth is Donald Trump is in serious mental and cognitive decline. He is more emotionally unhinged than ever. . . . In most respects, he mostly has become a President-In-Name-Only (PINO). Much like when Elon Musk was our Co-President, the real power of the presidency lies within the true believers using the confused, balding, and aging Trump — people like Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon, Laura Loomer, and Russell Vought. They control the Trump puppet strings. They are the ones behind Project 2025 and all of the authoritarian moves of this second term. And they are the ones pushing Trump to subvert the 2026 midterms . . . . .
[The key to winning in 2026 is] to make the 2026 midterms “too big to rig,” regardless of the hat tricks that will inevitably come from this Trump White House.
For those who would like to read the full analysis by Michael Salzillo, who is a young (under-30) aspiring political strategist, we will forward it separately. Just send an email asking for it at grandparentsfightback@gmail.com
So what should we be doing now?
1. Don’t stop letting your government representatives know that you are angry, worried and watching. There are, as always, lots of things to call about (see 5calls.org) for messaging for these issues and for other ideas), including:
*The loss of SNAP benefits and the defiance of court orders to fund them; for info on who needs SNAP help in your state and what to say, see https://5calls.org/issue/wic-snap-benefits-goverment-shutdown/
*Republicans' refusal to negotiate for an end to the federal shutdown - and a message to the Dems: thank you for holding the line! Don't give in or give up! We are winning this, although we deeply regret the heavy cost;
*Continuing brutality of ICE (see, for a chilling example in Colorado this week, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/us/politics/durango-colorado-ice-protester.html?unlocked_article_code=1.y08.KMXi.HAn_jBjvISWd&smid=url-share);
*Trump's murders on the high seas and his war mongering;
*Johnson’s refusal to call the House into session so a lawfully elected House representative can be seated and the Epstein tapes can be released.
2. Continue to get out in public protesting. While our small demonstrations don’t seem to get much press and certainly don’t influence Trump, a lot of people pass by and see them. That’s important for building the movement.
3. If you haven’t already, start focusing on the 2026 elections. If you haven’t decided on one or more candidates to support - with money and/or time —and would like guidance, I suggest three sources:
(1) GFB member Len Lubinsky does a deep dive into the political landscape deeply and writes a regular letter identifying people he thinks are worth our time and money. I would be happy to send him your email address if you would like to be on his mailing list. Just let me know.
(2) GFB member Marc Foster is a very active participant in a great organization, run entirely by volunteers, called Force Multiplier (FM). Undertaking deep research, FM identifies candidates for the House and Senate whom it believes can win, need its support and are in important races. 100% of your donations will go to either FM’s candidates or, if you choose, political action organizations that it supports. For info go to https://www.forcemultiplierus.org/
(3) If you want to give to a pool of money that may support both federal and state candidates, check out Swing Left, https://swingleft.org/. They don’t seem to have identified state legislative races yet, but I expect them to do that in the near future.
The elections on Tuesday were very gratifying. The coming months will require all of us to work as hard as we can to build on them and rid our country of the danger to us and the world posed by Trump and his allies.
Let's keep it up!
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