The Red Wave Died Down to a Red Ripple

There were some early signs that some of the worst-case scenarios—think Kathy Hochul losing the New York governor’s mansion to Republican Lee Zeldin—weren’t in the cards for Democrats. A quick call for Colorado Senator Michael Bennet suggested that some of the big marquee matchups might not be the torrid and drawn-out contests that pundits were expecting. Josh Shapiro put Doug Mastriano away quickly. A pair of Virginia bellwethers found Democrats surviving: first Jennifer Wexton and then Abigail Spanberger. Was that Republican Dan Bolduc, rising in the estimation of the predict-a-tariat in the last several days? Bad news, emerging consensus: Maggie Hassan romped over Bolduc and will once again represent New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate.

Naturally, the night wasn’t all wine and roses for Democrats. Republicans prevailed in many of the races they’d hoped to claim. In the Ohio Senate race, J.D. Vance defeated Democrat Tim Ryan, who at times had looked like he might emerge as a future party standard-bearer. In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott hung another loss around the neck of Beto O’Rourke; his Georgia counterpart, Brian Kemp, did the same to Stacey Abrams. And if there is one horror show for Democrats in tonight’s results, it comes in Florida—there is simply a vast gulf between the triumphant GOP, led by Governor Ron DeSantis, and a state Democratic Party that seems wholly impotent.