Say what you will about Donald Trump, but he can really bring out protesters — and voters.

Not only did the president and his MAGA minions cause huge crowds to rally and march against his policies last month, but he also was the driving force bringing many Americans to cast ballots in Tuesday’s off-year election.

Against him.

No doubt his supporters may publicly say they’re undeterred by the results, but those experienced enough feel which way the political winds are blowing. They surely know that more and more Americans have had enough of a shut-down government that can’t, won’t, deliver essential services, much less policies that cut off food and health care for the vulnerable and poor. That don’t uphold the rule of law, or basic compassion and decency and truth.

So, a big night for Democrats, who took back a governor’s mansion in a critical 2026-28 swing state, Virginia; and kept control of another in New Jersey; while winning a mayoral race in New York City. Democrats also won in state and local elections in Georgia and Mississippi.
Voters in California agreed, overwhelmingly, to allow Democrats to redraw our congressional districts to match Republicans doing the same in other states.

The vote on Proposition 50 also showed that most state and county voters, unsurprisingly, detest Trump/MAGA excesses, no matter their disaffection with some Democratic Party agendas.

The margin of victory for Prop. 50, advanced by Gov. Gavin Newsom to counter the Trumpist gerrymandering in red states to sway the outcome in the 2026 midterms, was decisive, winning with about 64% of the vote statewide. For Santa Cruz County, hardly a sanctuary for MAGA-ites, Prop. 50 had a 77% approval vote as of Wednesday morning (and a more than 46% county turnout in an off-year election).
In the city of Santa Cruz, Measure C, the affordable housing tax, is still too close to call, but the vote from UCSC students, many of whom registered to vote only days before the Nov. 4 election, could prove decisive.

As of Wednesday morning, Measure C had 9,204 votes counted in favor, or about 52%, and 8,411, or approximately 48%, against the measure, which needs a simple majority to pass. Measure B, supported by the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors, won’t pass, with about 88% of voters opposing.

If Measure C is approved, the initiative would enact an annual tax of $96 per parcel in the city of Santa Cruz, with a number of exemptions. Measure C also includes a transfer tax for homes sold at a price of $1.8 million or more that increases incrementally from 0.5% to 2%, dependent on the sale price and caps at $200,000. The city estimates the taxes will raise $2.5 million each year for the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. About 87% of the money raised would be used to bolster affordable housing projects and programs, and 10% of the funds to prevent evictions and address homelessness.

What the voting might mean nationally

The easy win for New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani also sends a signal to the Trump administration. Say what you will about the 34-year-old Mamdani’s socialist agenda and his stances on policing, wealth distribution and Israel, he attracted swarms of voters who were wanting something far different in leadership than offered by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, discredited during the COVID crisis and accused by several women of sexual harassment. In a fiery speech after he was declared the winner, Mamdani said, “I refuse to apologize” for being a socialist, a Muslim and young politician.

Elsewhere, more moderate Democrats won in governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey. Party leaders by now hopefully are well aware that a radical left agenda won’t play well among voters outside major cities such as NYC.

Yet, considering that prices are up, Trump is broadly unpopular in national polls, and that Democratic candidates won making their elections about him, next up might be retaking the House in 2026. More immediately, both parties need to get the government reopened.

Trump seems to realize his party will get blamed and probably lose Congress and the 2028 presidential election if they don’t make quickly move to end the shutdown.

Not to mention ending the move toward authoritarianism and stopping ICE thuggery.