ELECTION POSTGAME #1: Quick Takes

By Don Varyu, November 4, 2026

Yes, it was a glorious night for Democrats—and America. Perhaps the fever is finally broken.

• Women. Behind all of the satisfying upsets, I wonder if Congress has ever had as many women as will be sworn in come January. (And governors, too). What a night for girl power.

• Abundance of Riches. There are so many things to be done…so many scoundrels to be investigated. So many oders to overturn. So many malicious agencies to be broken apart and reworked. Fortunately, there are a lot of House and Senate committees. That creates great opportunity, but also an embarrassment of rich targets. How do we deploy our rhetorical and investigative army? What comes first? How is the attack coordinated? And most of all, who is our general? In my mind, we don’t have one yet. The people who lead Dems in the Senate and House may perform their legislative duties well, but that’s not enough. We need an outsized personality and forceful presence—you know, sort of like Trump—only sane.

• Equality. The state of Michigan will now be represented by a Jewish woman and and Muslim man. Can we just say the war over identity politics is over—and we won?

• The turning point? If voters finally decided they’d had enough, when did that happen? I would vote for the two week period when the promise of a “crackdown” on illegal immigrants instead resulted in the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. They are the martyrs of this election victory.

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It is staggering to consider how many sleezebags, grifters and thieves were run out of office in a single night.

Democracy can be thrilling.