It’s been a good five years or so since Democrats were truly happy on a big election night.
2016 certainly wasn’t one of those times. Democrats watched in horror as Donald Trump won the presidency, a scenario that many people around the country thought was impossible. And all the talk about potentially retaking the Senate evaporated as Republicans won races that seemed like long shots.
Most Democrats point to 2012, when Barack Obama was re-elected, as the last happy time. One Democrat reminded HuffPost of 2013, when Terry McAuliffe won the Virginia gubernatorial race, making history as a Democrat able to win in the state despite the same party being in the White House.
Regardless, it’s been a while.
Democrats won big a year after Hillary Clinton's election loss. (Photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
So many Democrats couldn’t believe their eyes Tuesday when they saw the string of blue victories across the country. The party won the gubernatorial race in Virginia by a large margin. It took the governor’s seat in New Jersey away from GOP control. It won far more seats in the Virginia House of Delegates than anyone expected. And it flipped seats and had historic wins elsewhere.
The wins showed the limits of Trump’s brand of politics and validated the thousands of people around the country who joined the resistance after last year’s election.
“There is a lot more work still to do, but as anniversaries go, this was something of a catharsis,” said Brian Fallon, who served as the Clinton campaign spokesman. “Republicans like [Virginia gubernatorial candidate] Ed Gillespie made a deliberate choice to put Trumpism on the ballot, making the Democratic success yesterday all the more redemptive. Everyday people are stepping up to run for office and making a statement that they will not let their country be defined by what happened on November 8, 2016, and thank God for that.”
Democrats were worried a Gillespie win would encourage more Republicans to run on a platform like Trump’s. Gillespie played up the nativist rhetoric that pushed Trump to victory in 2016. And the president touted Gillespie’s candidacy, even recording robocalls to boost him.
Between Tuesday’s losses and the defeat of Trump’s preferred candidate in the Alabama Senate GOP primary just over a month ago, the Republican Party ― and the president himself ― is learning the limits of his appeal.
Trump boasted last year that if he stood in the middle of New York’s Fifth Avenue and shot someone, he still wouldn’t lose any supporters. That twisted scenario may be true (luckily it hasn’t been tested), but it’s clear that Trump at least isn’t invincible. As Tuesday showed, his actions do have consequences, and people who are repulsed by what he does will step up and try to stop him.
Tuesday’s victories were aided in large part by the grassroots movement that formed in the wake of Trump’s win. Those groups have quickly become part of the progressive infrastructure and work closely with the local Democratic parties.
In Virginia, for example, there are more than 180 active Indivisible chapters that made more than 600,000 calls around Tuesday’s elections.
“The sweeping victories in races that had previously been considered unwinnable show that the progressive movement is an energized, locally led and transformative force,” said Maria Urbina, Indivisible’s political director. “Politicians who fail to stand up against Trump should take notice, because we’re just getting started. A progressive wave is coming, and 2018 is around the corner.”
Women have led the resistance. They mobilized for the Women’s March in January, and a record number of women have been running for public office.
There were some moments of comeuppance in Tuesday night’s victories. Danica Roem won a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, becoming the first openly transgender lawmaker in the state’s history. She defeated Del. Bob Marshall (R), who introduced legislation that would have prohibited transgender students from using the bathroom of their choice.
Democrat Ashley Bennett won a seat as a freeholder in Atlantic County, New Jersey. She was inspired to run after seeing a Republican politician joke about whether the Women’s March would be “over in time for them to cook dinner.” That man is the incumbent she defeated Tuesday.
U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton waits to speak as she is introduced at Singapore Management University, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012, in Singapore.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gestures as she speaks during a ceremony in recognition of World AIDS Day, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012, at the State Department in Washington, where she released The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, (PEPFAR) Blueprint' for Creating an AIDS- Free Generation.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Wednesday Dec. 5, 2012. NATO foreign ministers were set Wednesday to shift their focus to the way forward in Afghanistan during a second day of talks in Brussels, as the military alliance prepares to withdraw its combat troops in 2014.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gestures as she gives a speech: "Frontlines and Frontiers: Making Human Rights a Human Reality," Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, at Dublin City University in Dublin, Ireland.
In this Dec. 1, 2012 file photo, Actress Meryl Streep uses her iPhone to get a photo of her and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton following the State Department Dinner for the Kennedy Center Honors gala at the State Department in Washington.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a Global Townterview at the Newseum in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly September attack on a US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya in Jan. 2013.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton smiles before speaking on American leadership at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton laughs as she gives a speech during a ceremony honoring her at the Pentagon, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, where outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta presented her with the Defense Department's Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
This April 2, 2013, file photo shows former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addressing the Vital Voices Global Partnership 2013 Global Leadership Awards gala at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. Clinton is getting plenty of encouragement to run for president in 2016. Her re-emergence this past week after a two-month break brought out cheering supporters when she gave speeches focused on the issues of women and girls around the world.
Hillary Clinton greets the audience during a Yale Law School ceremony at Yale University, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013, in New Haven, Conn. Clinton received the Yale Law School Association Award of Merit, which is presented annually to those who have made a substantial contribution to public service or the legal profession.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, poses onstage for a photograph with Elton John after receiving her Founders award during the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 12th Annual "An Enduring Vision" benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in New York.
In a Monday, Aug. 12, 2013 file photo, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to the American Bar Association Annual Meeting Monday, Aug. 12, 2013, in San Francisco. Clinton spoke about maintaining the Voting Rights Act and received a medal from the association. The former secretary of state will receive the Elton John AIDS Foundation's first Founder's Award for her support of gay rights. In a statement Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, the foundation cited a 2011 speech in which Clinton asserted that gay rights were human rights for helping envision a world without AIDS.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walks to the podium after receiving the Liberty Medal during a ceremony at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013, in Philadelphia. The honor is given annually to an individual who displays courage and conviction while striving to secure liberty for people worldwide.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses a gala celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Center for American Progress at the Mellon Auditorium October 24, 2013 in Washington, DC. Co-founded by former Clinton Administration Chief of Staff John Podesta, the liberal public policy research and advocacy organization is a think tank that rivals conservative policy groups, such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks after receiving the National Defense Foundation University's (NDU) American Patriot Award during a gala dinner at the Ronald Reagan Center in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. The American Patriot Award annually recognizes leaders of extraordinary caliber who have strengthened America's strategic interests and advanced global security.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walks past the Presidential seal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, after a ceremony where President Barack Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former President Bill Clinton and others.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks after receiving the 2013 Lantos Human Rights Prize during a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 6, 2013.
