Thoughts on a Very Bad Night for Donald Trump

Democrats get huge wins and voters send a message to Trump

Well, that felt good. I imagine I am not the only one, but I had been carrying around some election-night PTSD leftover from last year. It’s nice to get a win and exorcise some of those demons.

The night went about as well as Democrats could have hoped and about as bad as Donald Trump and the Republicans could have feared.

This was the first real test of Donald Trump’s political strength since winning the White House, and he fell flat on his face.

Democrats won a huge victory in Virginia, survived a tough race in New Jersey, elected an inspiring leader in New York City, took a huge step toward taking back the House majority in California, and won a crucial election in Pennsylvania.

Republicans are trying to downplay these results. Pundits — and some Democrats — are already misinterpreting them as they try to divine clues for 2026 and beyond.

Off-year elections are not particularly predictive. The electorate last night was almost certainly friendlier to Democrats than what we will see next year in the midterms, but make no mistake — this was a massive rebuke to Donald Trump.

Here are my quick thoughts on an excellent night for Democrats.

1. Donald Trump Was a Drag on His Party

These elections took place on largely Democratic-friendly turf and Democrats typically do well in off-year elections, but there is no question that Trump was a drag on his party. According to exit polls, Trump’s approval rating was abysmal: 41/56 in Virginia and 43/55 in New Jersey.

He is so unpopular that he wasn’t asked to campaign in person in New Jersey or Virginia. California Democrats used Trump to generate enthusiasm for the redistricting measure.