Democrats have taken the country by storm, winning not just the four seats they needed to gain control of the Senate, but seven. They also gained control of the House, in what some would call a “blue tsunami.”

Democrats made history across the country, especially in Texas, which flipped blue for the first time in 38 years. James Talarico won his hard-fought Senate race, and Gina Hinojosa became the first-ever Latina elected governor of Texas and the first Democrat elected governor in Texas in 30 years.

Kansas flipped blue with Senator-elect Adam Hamilton; Annie Andrews was elected the first woman to the U.S. Senate from South Carolina and the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the state in 28 years; New Mexico Governor-elect Deb Haaland is the first Native American woman governor in U.S. history;  David Crowley is the first black governor elected in Wisconsin; Keisha Lance Bottoms is the first Black woman ever elected governor and first Democrat elected governor of Georgia in 24 years; Chris Pappas is the first openly gay man ever elected to the US Senate; Peggy Flanagan is the first Native American woman ever elected to the Senate; Amy Acton is the first woman elected governor of Ohio; Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed is the first Muslim American ever elected to the U.S. Senate; Amy Klobuchar is the first woman elected governor of Minnesota; Troy Jackson is the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Maine in 38 years; and Sarah McBride is the first openly transgender person re-elected to congress.

The Democratic candidate Eric Armstrong in Iowa House District 20, after he suspended his campaign two months earlier because of health issues, was elected. He wasn’t running, and he still won, keeping the seat blue.

Do you know how bad you have to be at your job to turn states like Texas and Kansas blue?

I write this because people who wanted change are making history. Desperation makes you crave change and ask questions: What if someone else were in power? Would my circumstances be different?

What you can accomplish when you have had enough is astounding. This election was a testament to that notion; people finally had had enough. Young, new voters across the U.S. made it possible.

This is what I mean by every vote counts — you matter. A great example is Mississippi and Alaska, the last two states awaiting election results.

As of press time, the Mississippi Senate, with 97% reported, has Democrat Scott Colom (Democratic Party) leading with 49.08%, and Cindy Hyde-Smith (Republican Party) at 48.81%. The vote is close, with a 2,574-vote difference. Alaska, another state still to be called, has an even smaller vote difference; Democrat Mary Peltola leads by only 637 votes.

Sadly, the blue tsunami didn’t reach landlocked Arkansas. We continue to vote for a man who does not even live in Arkansas, but in one of the richest neighborhoods in a BLUE state. Yes, Tom Cotton moved his family to Virginia, although he still owns property in Arkansas. Hmmm, wonder why? The same Tom Cotton, who is more interested in funding going to Israel than his own state, which is one of the poorest, lowest literacy-rate states in the U.S. We now have a $6.3 million Raytheon-Rafael Protection facility in East Camden, Arkansas, a missile manufacturing plant that produces components of Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system.

And Sarah Huckabee Sanders, we would very much appreciate that $15 an hour, that you mistakenly claimed on live national television was the minimum wage in Arkansas.

But we did make waves, turning some districts blue. Many Arkansans who voted for Trump have turned their backs on the so-called president and started demanding change. In a shocking turn of events, they finally realized that Trump did not keep his promises to bring down grocery, gas prices and “no new wars.”

The Democrats promised many things: affordable healthcare, money out of politicians’ pockets and into the working class in their respective states, Medicaid for all and reforms in the education system. Prioritizing the working class, making sure they are getting what they voted for, the promises they believed in.

On Nov. 3, 2026, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights for both patients and doctors, giving women rights to their own bodily autonomy. This is a state getting what they want. This has nothing to do with red or blue; it’s about right or wrong. Virginia Democrats were a driving force in passing this amendment, and that’s why people chose them.

This lesson from Virginia is what is important. Regardless of which party you support (and for some reason you want Arkansas to be a red state), hold elected officials accountable to their promises. Because if we don’t advocate for ourselves, no one will do it for us.

We should all have learned from Tricia Cotham, who, in April 2023, shortly after winning election to the North Carolina House of Representatives, switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, giving the legislature a supermajority. The issue isn’t the party; it’s lying to the people who supported her campaign and voted for her.

She faced backlash from her own state and fellow Democratic candidates, and in 2026, she lost her seat to a Democrat. She is an example of a bad politician—someone who doesn’t follow through on what they promised.

Elected officials will know they are doing a good job when people protect their name. Look at New York, for example. Say something bad about Mamdani and watch how most people react. They don’t stand for it. People have started to give him credit for the blue wave. Voters across the country saw what New York had become under his guidance, and they knew that he was doing what he promised.

He is not the president, so he cannot fix everyone’s problems, but he is doing what he can with what he controls. Is that not exactly what we need? A person for the people, by the people.

But y’all remember the Big Beautiful bill, signed in July 2025, with tax relief, scaled-back clean energy funding, and federal loan modification? That bill will go into effect in 2027, and hard-hat Republicans will find a way to blame the Democrats for all the problems this bill brings. It’s important to understand the timeline and who was in control when this bill passed: Republicans.

Now that Democrats will soon control the House, hold them accountable. They promised; they better deliver. Talk is talk without action. You owe it to every immigrant, every little boy and girl who wished they could vote, every victim of the justice system.

Stand up for yourself, stand up for your people and stand up for the person who could not stand up for themselves.

Categories: Opinion