No, the roof didn't cave in on Donald Trump's MAGA/republican party in last night's odd year elections. However, it is safe to say the timbers overhead began to creak and groan ominously. While statewide elections were few and far between the democrats won each and every one--by a lot.
Even in Maine, a measure to require voter ID's and restrict absentee ballots failed by 30 plus %. Another, calling for a red flag law on gun ownership won by nearly 27%. For those wondering, the 2020 census showed the state of Maine's population is 61.6% white alone. 12.4% black alone, 18.7% Hispanic alone, and 6% Asian alone. 10.2% belong to two races, or more. Those aren't exactly the numbers which would typically indicate the state is a hot bed of what House Speaker Mike Johnson describes as, radical left, Marxist, Antifa types.
In Virginia democrats won the gubernatorial election by 14.6%. Up in New Jersey, despite people like Sean Hannity predicting a GOP win, democrats carried the governor's race by 13%. Both Mikie Sherill in NJ and Abagail Spanberger in VA ran against MAGA backed candidates. NJ republican, Jack Ciattarelli, now a three-time loser for that office, had been lauded by Donald Trump himself as being, "Pure MAGA."
Then in California the only thing on the ballot was Proposition 50. It was and is, democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom's response to the Trump inspired gerrymandering plan to fix the 2026 congressional elections. In places like Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina republican controlled legislatures are arbitrarily redrawing congressional districts, hoping to increase the number of seats held by those, "Pure MAGA's. Prop 50 asked the people of California to allow their democratically controlled legislature to do the same.
The reaction from the Trump administration was as expected. The day early voting began on the issue, the President posted, "The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the voting itself, is RIGGED. All Mail-in Ballots where the Republicans in that State are Shut Out is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!" Not long after that Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt posted, "There is blatant FRAUD with their mail-in voting system. FRAUDULENT ballots are being mailed in under the names of other people and illegal aliens! There are COUNTLESS examples. And we are looking into executive action."
Newsom's response was to describe Trump's post as the, "rambling of an old man that knows he's going to LOSE." As for Leavitt's, "there are COUNTLESS examples," she was right--sort of. No one has counted a single case of fraud, at least not yet. The general public and media seemed t shrug off Trump's rant with a collective yawn. When the Big Orange Guy saw the reaction, he dropped it completely. Yesterday, Prop 50 passed by 25 plus %. It appears the majority, in California anyway, believes voter approval of redistricting is just as constitutional as unendorsed legislative redistricting.
The DOJ's half assed attempt at voter intimidation in NJ and CA looked to have no effect. While some paranoids (Here's looking at you, self) thought there was a real possibility of squads of ICE and Border Patrol agents kicking ass and taking names at polling stations, it never happened. Maybe because in both states, local poll monitors were there to monitor, not voting, but the federal monitors. Or maybe it was a trial run to test the waters before the big show in 2026. If it was the results couldn't have been encouraging to Brother Don, or his band of authoritarian kleptocrats.
It didn't help that on the Saturday before the election--the same night 42 million Americans were losing government subsidized food assistance and millions more were finding out the cost of their health care was skyrocketing--Trump threw his crowd a wildly decadent, "Great Gatsby," party at Mar a Lago. It featured balloons, champagne, 1920's costumes, and even shapely girls lounging in rotating oversized champagne glasses. The invitation read, "A little party never killed anyone." That line moved Jon Stewart to ask, "Did anyone there even read the book? The party did kill someone. In fact, it killed two someone's." He went on to describe the glittering soiree as a, "Marie Antoinette," moment.
Finally, there was the New York City mayoral election. Zohran Mamdani won a four-way election by gathering 50.4% of the vote. His closest competitor was democrat, running as independent, Andrew Cuomo who received 41.6% of the vote. The republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa managed a mere 7.1%. Trump, knowing Sliwa had about as much of a chance as Custer at the Little Big Horn, endorsed Cuomo at the last minute.
Actually, republicans, including Trump, might consider Mamdani's victory as sort of a sub rosa win for them when it comes to next year's congressional elections. They will be able to claim the democrats are all headed so far left they aren't even democrats anymore, but rather like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, raving socialists. Or, as Sean Hannity likes to put it, Communists. Not to mention, in Mamdani's case, a socialist who is also a Muslim. He is, at least in their minds, the perfect wet dream of an opponent. It doesn't matter that he is the mayor of a single U.S. city and his policies and decisions won't have a thing to do with the vast majority of Americans. It doesn't even matter he will not be on a single ballot anywhere next year. He's a fucking socialist/communist/Muslim son of a bitch out to destroy America and in his spare time make us all convert to Islam.
Think not? Just wait for it.
Last night Donald Trump went on social media and wrote, "TRUMP WASN'T ON THE BALLOT AND SHUTDOWN WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT." He was probably right. Without the 78-year-old Donald Trump on the ballot the whole despicable MAGA sales pitch quickly falls apart. And, thanks to the shutdown, the public is turning against the GOP once again and not the democrats.
Well, let's face it, the Mango Mussolini might be able to shoot someone in the middle of 5th Ave. and get away with it. However, no one gets a free pass when they take food off the tables of 42 million Americans while raising the cost of health care beyond reach.
There are some things you just can't lie your way out of.
11-5-25
