In the wake of former President Donald Trump’s sweeping victory over Kamala Harris, there’s no shortage of finger-pointing happening across the political spectrum. The usual suspects are lining up: Biden, who was sold to the public as fit and vigorous just months ago, is now being labeled as old and feeble. Trump, predictably, will face blame for simply being Trump. Figures like Doug Walz, with his less-than-charming “clownish” vibe, are catching flak for embodying what many see as Democratic dishonesty. And Americans? Well, they’re catching blame too, for simply having had enough of the media’s gaslighting and policy extremes pushed by the far left. Progressives who dreamed of solidifying their agenda on diversity quotas, gender theory, and pushing religion out of the public sphere seem stunned that voters didn’t fall in line. But maybe, just maybe, Americans are truly fed up.
For the first time since 2004, a GOP candidate took the popular vote, which not only pokes a hole in the Democrats’ “National Popular Vote Compact” ambitions but signals a possible political shift. Trump’s support spanned a range of groups and regions, proving this was no fluke. He didn’t just win in his usual areas. In Florida, where he squeaked by in 2016 with a margin of less than two points, he claimed a resounding 13.4-point lead this time around. Even more shocking, he managed to flip Nassau County, Long Island, a longtime Democratic stronghold.
And then there’s Texas. For years, the Democrats have hyped the idea of a “blue Texas,” only to have their hopes dashed yet again. Starr County, the “most Hispanic” county in America, went from voting Democrat by a 60-point margin in 2016 to a 5-point lead for Biden in 2020, only to swing to Trump by nearly 16 points this year. Meanwhile, Democratic efforts to make Colin Allred a Texas hero fell flat. In fact, Allred’s campaign made Beto O’Rourke’s previous failed attempts look like strokes of political genius by comparison.
The Democrats’ usual race-card rhetoric seems to be falling flat, too. Take Tony Hinchcliffe’s tone-deaf comedy bit about Puerto Rico—a jab the media swore would drive Puerto Ricans away from Trump and the GOP. Yet, on Election Day, Puerto Ricans backed New Progressive Party’s Republican candidate, Jenniffer González-Colón, as their governor. In Florida, Puerto Rican voters in Osceola County flipped the area from a 14-point Democratic lead to a narrow Republican edge. So much for that theory.
Even in the Democrats’ supposed heartlands, Trump’s win sent shockwaves. Virginia, which Biden won comfortably by 10 points, saw that margin slashed in half for Harris, leaving her with only a five-point lead. And that’s not the only eyebrow-raising shift. The voting trends suggest a major political realignment underway—one that cuts across ethnicities and backgrounds.
All signs point to a shift that could signal the beginning of a long-term trend. If Trump can sustain a policy agenda that resonates with working-class Americans, he may well lead the GOP in ushering progressive Democrats into the political dustbin. This election may be remembered as the night the left’s cherished narratives began to collapse under their own weight. Four more years of results-driven governance could spell the end for the progressives who took their ideals too far, leaving the Democrats scrambling to reclaim relevance.
