John,
Multiple remarkable stories came out of this election.
First, President-Elect Trump pulled off a historic win by building a new working-class coalition of Americans of all ages, races, and economic backgrounds. After felony convictions, assassination attempts, and relentless negative press coverage, the people spoke decisively in his favor. They chose the candidate who was most effective at discussing issues, taking meaningful policy positions, and acknowledging the pain many voters were feeling.
The second remarkable story is what didn't happen. The country did not erupt into violence. No claims of fraud or cheating have gone mainstream. Perhaps it's because we were given a gift in the form of a decisive win for one side, but Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party also deserve credit for standing by their principles and accepting the result with dignity.
Here's another notable story out of this election, one I bet you haven't heard about: The center had a huge night. Out of the 29 races we were tracking that featured problem solving leaders--many of which were longshots--a staggering 22 of them either won or appear poised for victory. That's a 75% win rate.
Among them were four of our brave leaders in Congress, each of whom were in hard-fought and extremely tight races: Jared Golden (D-ME), Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Mike Lawler (R-NY), and Marie Glusenkamp Perez (D-WA). We'd love for you to follow those links to their Facebook pages and congratulate them on behalf of our community.
In addition, we also helped secure victory for new leaders like Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) and Sam Liccardo (D-CA). All told, these were resounding victories for the middle, and it gives us a solid foundation for the years ahead.
So what comes next? There is plenty of uncertainty, but we know there will be massive pressure for everyone to fall into one of two camps: pro-Trump or pro-resistance. The real power will go to those who recognize this as a false choice and who present a third option. That will be us.
We will stand up for Trump’s policies when they are right, stand against them when they are wrong, and do the same for Democrats. We will strive to be your source of impartial, unbiased information and analysis, because that will be hard to come by.
We will also work to ensure both parties learn the right lessons from this election. Republicans have a mandate, but they should be careful not to overinterpret it. That would be a great way to squander their newly diverse coalition. Democrats need to rebuild, but they'll need to decide whether to rebuild toward the center, not the fringes.
We have an opportunity, working with our brave new leaders in Congress, to help guide outcomes in these coming months. It won't be easy. It will require strategy, courage, and leadership, but we have all three in spades. Our December 12 meeting will be a crucial opportunity to come together and chart the course ahead.
As we prepare for that gathering, we would love your comments and reflections about this election and where our community should go from here.
