Thomas E. Garrett

Four big stories that could be coming out of tonight 1) the MAGA rural collapse is wide and deep. These are places that are living the direct pain of intentional decisions by Trump like tariffs and the war. Their sense of betrayal is acute. It’s also the case that rural America has never been as monolithic as the political narrative - which means that there are organizing opportunities ahead. 2) The Supreme Court and GOP have created conditions for a massive black voter surge across the Deep South with their attacks on voting rights. This will finally compel investments from Dems in that political infrastructure. It should also move investments from liberal philanthropy on policy work in places like MS and LA. 3) Latino voters are performing at a rate and with a preference that should make clear that this isn’t simply a “kitchen table” election. The terror these communities have experienced in this age of ICE has created a rights constituency amongst voters who largely stayed home in 2024 4) Corruption isn’t a side issue. Some of us have been shouting about things like banning stock trading in Congress and the White House for at least a decade. Dems and Repubs have failed on this - but the scale of greed in this White House and the lack of accountability in this Congress finally fired up the public outrage and imagination. With consequences. And thus Dems will have a runway for a transformational Ethics Agenda in the new Congress and in 2028.