Democrats swept Republicans off the map in nearly every purple and blue state, but in many of those same states, voters also approved conservative ballot measures by wide margins.

Voters in eight states passed ballot initiatives strengthening voter identification requirements or explicitly restricting voting to American citizens. Oklahoma voters approved a voter ID constitutional amendment in August, bringing the year’s total to nine states.

Ohio voters — who elected Democrat Amy Acton governor and sent Sherrod Brown back to the Senate — simultaneously approved Issue 3, a ballot measure that writes the state’s photo ID requirement into the constitution, with 65% of the vote.

In North Carolina, where former Democrat Governor Roy Cooper won the state’s open Senate seat by 20 points, 60% of voters backed a measure that extends the state’s photo ID requirement to mail ballots. Kansas voters, who voted to unseat incumbent GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, also passed a citizens-only voting amendment 64% to 36%. Nevada voters gave a constitutional voter ID amendment its required second approval, after first approving the measure in 2024.

On trans issues, conservative ballot measures drew majority support, even in blue states.

In Washington state, voters approved Initiative 638, which bars boys from competing in girls’ K-12 sports, was leading roughly 56% to 44%. Democrat Governor Bob Ferguson opposed the initiative.

Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood, who filed the initiative, told Outkick the result shows “it’s not a Republican/Democrat issue, it’s a parental issue.”

Two Colorado measures also held leads as ballots continued to be counted. Proposition 134 — which requires K-12 and college teams to be designated by biological sex — leads with 52%, with 87% of the vote counted early Thursday. A companion proposition that restricts trans surgeries for minors meant to alter sex characteristics had roughly 52% support. Both remain uncalled by the Associated Press in the latest reporting review.

Both Colorado measures came from Protect Kids Colorado, a grassroots group that gathered more than 500,000 signatures with over 3,300 volunteers, as The Daily Wire previously reported.

Conservatives also secured victories on sports measures in Nebraska and Arizona. After three straight years of Arizona Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs vetoing similar legislation, Arizona voters approved a measure extending sex-based sports and private-space restrictions to schools and athletic associations. Nebraska voters approved a constitutional amendment barring boys and men from competing on school and college teams designated for girls and women.

Tax measures offered conservatives additional wins, while California’s proposed billionaire tax was trailing.

California Proposition 40, which would impose a one-time 5% tax on individuals and trusts with more than $1 billion in covered assets, trailed roughly 55% to 45% with about 62% of the estimated vote counted. Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom opposed the wealth tax, arguing it would drive wealthy residents out of the state.

Florida voters passed a major property tax cut with 62% of the vote, clearing Florida’s 60% threshold for constitutional amendments. The measure increases the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.

Tennessee voters also passed a ballot measure prohibiting a state property tax, and Idaho voters rejected an effort to overturn the state’s abortion ban.

Nathan Gay, The Daily Wire

As advances in medical science continue to extend the lives of Baby Boomers, people are often spending more years caring for their elderly parents than they spent raising their own children.

Aging parents are all different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with every situation. However, from a “coping” point-of-view, I’ve come up with 7 basic strategies a grown child can employ to keep his or her sanity while still providing loving care to a parent or parents.

1. Accept that aging is a part of life. Avoid saying things to yourself like, “I can’t believe this is happening.” Or: “I wish my parents didn’t get old.” Instead of looking at it as a burden, try to view it as an opportunity for a new kind of relationship. Older people are not just a burden. They have a perspective on life that goes back a lot farther than yours. Things can be learned from that perspective.
2. Be clear with yourself about what you’re able and willing to do for your older parent. If you’re prepared to have your aging mother or father live with you, that’s fine. But don’t think this is your obligation. Other options do exist. Weigh those options carefully and be at ease with the one that you choose. If you’re uncomfortable, your parent will sense it.
3. Don’t overcompensate. If you feel guilty for not being available enough, then you’ll overcompensate in inappropriate ways. You’ll do favors that aren’t reasonable or realistic. You’ll be late for work. You’ll give up your own relaxation time. Your guilty fawning will turn your elderly parent into a brat! And you will become angry and resentful. Many take it out on their parents, so nobody benefits from this supposed “sacrifice.”
4. Replace guilt and stress with rational self-talk. For example: “Aging is a natural part of life. It is what it is. Under these circumstances, no living situation will be perfect or will please everyone — and that’s OK.” Keep perspective!
5. Share responsibility if possible. This is particularly important if you’re still raising children or have a job to manage. If you have siblings, hold regular meetings to discuss what makes most sense for each to do. Some people hate being chauffeurs, while others are fine with it. Some people are happy to sit and chat with an older person, while others get impatient after five minutes. Assign responsibility based on what makes most sense for each family member to do. If possible, hire outside help.
6. We all need and want our space. It’s important to set — and remember — your boundaries. Gently enforce them by being willing to say, “I’m sorry, I’m not able to do that for you right now.” This actually puts most parents at ease. Most elderly people are sensitive to not feeling that they’re burdens. If they know they can count on you to sometimes say no, it will make them more at ease when you say yes, because they’ll know you mean it!
7. Get used to making decisions for your parents. Give them as much choice as you can, but when it’s something big, don’t fret over having to disappoint them. It’s up to YOU to be consistent and do what you know you have to do, without feeling wishy-washy or guilty. Somebody has to be in charge.

Life is sometimes about role reversals. Probably the ultimate role reversal is when your aging parent who once took care of you now needs your care. Just as mommy or daddy once led the way for you, it’s now your turn to do the same for them. In order to be the best that you can be for your aging parent(s), it’s supremely important that you also take care of yourself in the process.

Michael J. Hurd, Life’s a Beach

If you think about it, nothing has changed since the election Tuesday. Half of the country is enraged with the other half, hoping to retaliate against the other side in 2 years. This time, however, the victorious seem very certain they will not have to worry about losing power. Democrats are very confident in government, at least when socialists and Muslims are in charge. This speaks to their gullibility to socialism in the first place. “Put progressives in charge of all human enterprise, and everything will be great, forever.” They are not concerned about using government force to obliterate dissension or incorrect thinking. Socially leftist “progressives” and Muslims share this totalitarian attitude, which explains their bizarre yet ultimately impossible coalition.

The reality? We’re right back where we were two years ago. And two years before that. And two years before that. One side hates the other, and WILL NOT back down. I do not know how the story ends. I can only say with certainty: this is NOT sustainable.

*******

J.D. Vance says Republicans lost because of the Iran war. Does this mean he doesn’t think it’s necessary to stop Iran from having nuclear weapons? Does he think they would never use nuclear weapons as blackmail? Or does he not believe that Iran was close to a nuclear weapon?
The military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq were a pitiful and tragic waste. Iran may be the only legitimate reason to act militarily. Trump’s problem was that he didn’t finish them off.

Republicans lost because the brainwashed masses think socialism will preserve prosperity while reducing costs. Won’t they be surprised.

I do not trust Vance. I am open to Rubio. And DeSantis. America will be paralyzed and more toxic than ever by 2028. The economy will probably worsen. Something like COVID will also be orchestrated to prevent a Republican presidency. I cannot predict what it will specifically be (nobody can), but it will be bad. I don’t think it will be another exaggerated flu. It will involve shutting down things as a way to control people and enable more election fraud, fear and compliance. Given the state of our electorate based on yesterday, it shouldn’t be too difficult. Democrats in Congress will paralyze Trump, prevent him from doing anything good, and then blame him for worse inflation, debt and the like. Congress will also take extraordinary measures against Trump’s aides, Cabinet and their families. This will be really ugly and cruel. Democrats (now radicalized) are a horrific hybrid of mobsters, fascists and sociopaths like you find on true crime shows. You will see a lot of evidence for this. The torpid voters will probably go along with it, holding out for that elusive “affordability.” The government will make us all poorer and then make us more dependent on them when prices go up. It’s so obvious

*******

Ironic. The Democratic Socialist Party platform (now merged with the Democratic Party) calls for abolishing the U.S. Senate. They will use that same Senate to vote away our individual rights and destroy America. Nice job, voters. Hope you enjoy your slightly lower cost of gas (which will not happen).

Will Democrats be as unpopular in 2028 as Republicans are now? I wish I could be so sure. The precursors to the radicals elected Tuesday are Bernie Sanders, AOC, Ilhan Omar and a few others. Again and again, they have all won reelection. I am unaware of any state that has flipped Democratic to Republican; but even before Tuesday, there were examples of states that had moved from red to purple or blue. Now we have even more: South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, and even Mississippi. North Carolina and Virginia were already succumbing to socialism.

For the last 20 years or more, the trend has been: Democratic states, once Democratic, stay Democratic. Forever. Many Republican states turn, but Democratic ones don’t. Tuesday’s horrifying election results merely escalated that trend. Florida remains the one exception; however, Florida was a purple state, never really a blue one, before going red. As it looks now, Florida may be the only red state left before long.

The problem is deeper than politics. It’s propaganda of one side posing as objective media and education. And almost nobody has critical thinking skills any longer. The present 20 and 30 somethings have been so brainwashed they cannot even grasp an alternative to what they voted for on Tuesday. I would love to be wrong. I wish to be wrong more than anything; truly I do. But the evidence is growing, and on Election Day, it was staggering.

Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason

If you think about it, we went from a worthless Republican Congress who refused to pass anything to a Democratic Congress who will be unable to pass anything because of Trump’s veto. However, it remains devastating that so many previous Republican voters turned to Communists and Islamoterrorists so quickly. And if fraud or illegal alien voting is involved on a massive scale — as appears probable in Texas especially — then we’re likewise in deep trouble because the fix is in permanently. One way or another, statists (Democrats, Muslims, RINOs) are determined to impose one Party rule, and as of this moment they have won. Unless President Trump fights back — like it’s 1861. Because it’s really that bad. President Trump?

Amazing. Democrats who are Muslims take an oath of office to defend the Constitution from enemies, both foreign and domestic. Yet they are — by their own ideology and confessed beliefs — enemies of the United States Constitution most particularly.

It doesn’t matter to Democrats. They only seem to care about enlisting the support of anyone dedicated to the incineration of America. Why do leftists choose to continue to live in a country they wish to see obliterated? They are free to move to Iran, or Venezuela. Leave those of us who enjoy our freedom and prosperity in America alone! I can reach only one logical conclusion: Leftists are not simply suicidal. They are suicidal-homicidal. They want to end their lives — and bring the rest of us down with them. They are the mentality of the school shooters and 9/11 terrorists. Once you understand and accept this very painful truth, all the insanity will make a certain kind of sense. And yes, you will be forced to face what we are all up against.

Democrat voters are not your friends. They are your destroyers. It’s a lot to absorb, I realize. But it’s the only possible explanation. Mistakes of this magnitude are not innocent.

Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason

President Donald Trump’s naming of deportation architect as his chief of staff unleashed anger, fear and astonishment among leaders of industries that depend on immigrant labor.

Industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor decried President Donald Trump’s promotion of his chief architect of deportations on Friday, just days after millions of Americans signaled anger about such policies.

The elevation of Stephen Miller to chief of staff, starting Monday, left some leaders of groups representing the agriculture and construction sectors gobsmacked.

“When I got a text message, ‘Hey, have you heard about Stephen Miller?,’ my first thought was: Thank goodness he was let go,” said Chris Herr, president of PennAg Industries Association, which represents farmers and pork and poultry producers. Many of his members helped propel Trump to victory in 2024 but have soured on the president, as some farmers reel from the loss of workers to immigration enforcement, he said.

“The wild card now is what is the president going to do?” Herr said. “Is he going to be engaged, or is the Stephen Miller policy going to rule the day?”

Last month, more than 40 farmers and agricultural industry groups wrote to Trump and congressional leaders, warning that the immigration crackdown was hitting the nation’s food supply, hurting farmers and risking higher grocery prices. The letter marked a strategy shift for an industry that had been reluctant to publicly criticize the immigration raids, preferring to lobby the administration behind the scenes. About 66 percent of the country’s farmworkers are foreign-born.

“Time will tell if Stephen Miller continues to wreck the economy, destroy families, tarnish the Republican political coalition and obliterate Trump’s legacy,” said Rebecca Shi, chief executive of the American Business Immigration Coalition, a bipartisan group that lobbies for immigration reform on Capitol Hill, which organized the letter.

The Washington Post

There’s a very important lesson to be gleaned here, with history as our teacher.

D. Padgett Blakley, Richard Blakley | November 7, 2026

There’s a very important lesson to be gleaned here, with history as our teacher.

Boris Bazhanov, Joseph Stalin’s former secretary, in his book, “The Memoirs of Stalin’s Former Secretary”, claimed that in 1923 Stalin said, “I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how: but what is extraordinarily important is this—who will count the votes, and how.”

While some historians believe that Stalin betrayed Marxist ideals by focusing on “socialism in one country,” others say he followed Marxist ideology well, pointing to a time in 1936 where the Communist Party gave three more votes to a Stalin opponent only to have within three years, two-thirds of the party members murdered. After all, Stalin is also quoted as saying, “death solves all problems,” and “a problem can be represented as a person: get rid of the person and you get rid of the problem.” In 1989 the Soviet historian Roy Medvedev estimated that about 20 million people died because of Stalin’s labor camps, forced collectivization, famine, and executions. Another 20 million people were victims of imprisonment, exile, and forced relocation. Again, Stalin is quoted as saying, “A single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic.” So, Stalin voiced and acted in accordance with that of a murderous demonic monster following Marxist doctrine.

So, why talk about Joseph Stalin, who became a murderous communist dictator? It is because where he ended up is not where he began. He began with cheating in elections—until he could consolidate his power, and only then did he reveal his insatiable desire to hold that power, at all costs.

Isn’t it interesting that there seems to be a group in the U.S.A. today that has a playbook titled, “101 Ways to Cheat on Elections”? Now what group could this be?

Let’s turn the dial back to 2020.  After tallying all the votes of the 2020 election, President Trump obtained more than 10 million votes beyond that which he obtained in 2016, which he used to win the electoral vote and defeat and demoralize Hillary Clinton. President Trump’s total of 74 million votes in 2020 was more votes than any incumbent president has ever won in history. However, DEMOCRAT Joe Biden went on to “defeat” Trump in 2020 by winning 7 million more votes, giving Biden more votes than any president has won in U.S. history.  This fact led some to ask why the Democrats weren’t shouting about how Joe getting more votes than any president in U.S. history—and the reason is, no one in their right mind would believe that that talking point is true.  DEMOCRAT Joe Biden?  This also led authors to write about noticing “the Elephant in the Room.” Hey, there’s an elephant in the room.  Did anyone notice?

Now let’s look at the 2024 election.  In 2024, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. decided to withdraw from the election and endorse Donald Trump.  DEMOCRAT Governor Roy Cooper’s then appointed DEMOCRAT-controlled Elections Board “refused” to remove Robert Kennedy’s name from the presidential ballots even though Kennedy requested his name to be removed from the ballot.  A DEMOCRAT judge, Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt, denied the temporary restraining order sought by Kennedy to prevent the DEMOCRAT-controlled elections boards from distributing ballots affixed with his name.  Holt said that the harm imposed upon Kennedy for staying on ballots is minimal.  What a ludicrous statement.  The harm is taking away votes from people who are running for the office of presidency.  Kennedy had to sue the then DEMOCRAT-controlled N.C. Board of Elections to remove his name from the ballot.  Similar battles occurred in Wisconsin and Michigan.  There was no reason to have a non-candidate on the ballot, except to try to take votes away from Donald Trump.  Note:  Kennedy was not running as a Democrat but as part of an independent party called, “We the People.”  It took a 4-3 split on the N.C. Supreme Court to remove Robert Kennedy’s name from the N.C. ballot and prevent the effort to split the conservative vote in the presidential 2024 election.

Also, during the 2024 election we had a DEMOCRAT socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on the ballot in New York City.  So, what is wrong with that?  Well, his name was on the ballot—twice—under two different parties, DEMOCRAT and Working Families.  It is true that Republican Curtis Sliwa was on the ballot twice for Republicans and Protect Animals, but I wonder how many animals voted, and whether or not that was as motivating as a “working families” party?

For the answer to how many animals voted, we must dial forward to 2026.  Virginia’s DEMOCRAT Governor Abigail Spanberger’s voting-rights restoration process supported by Richmond DEMOCRATS is making sure “all votes are counted.”  Apparently, a pet owner received an official citation saying that his dog’s voting rights had been restored.  Yes, the official document bearing the governor’s signature says the executive reviewed the particulars of Biscuit’s criminal case and determined her rights should be restored.  The owner said that “Biscuit” was a “good dog and is greatly missed,” for you see, Biscuit has been dead for five years.  The owner also said, “To my knowledge, she was never convicted of a felony, nor did she ever show any interest in voting,”—at least not while she was alive.  There is no telling how she is voting now, but my bet it is like Ray Steven’s grandpa, who voted Republican until the day he died, and has voted DEMOCRAT ever since.

Then in 2026 we have “decoy Dan,” where a New York Times investigation found that DEMOCRATS for a year have been engineering a plan to confuse voters by recruiting a person to run as an independent who has the same name as the Republican candidate.  This has led to multiple investigations being instigated by local officials, the Department of Justice, and Alaska’s governor’s office.  The DEMOCRAT candidate is quoted as saying, “It should be a criminal offense to lie or mislead the electorate.”  Well, let’s hope her own words come true.

Next of course we have the English-speaking Somali voters in Maine who need DEMOCRAT translators to aid them in filling out their ballots, which is against the law in Maine.

And let’s not forget Public Interest Legal Foundation President, J. Christian Adams reporting that in Maine alone there are 3,181 dead voters still registered, and 693 duplicates.  Apparently, Maine’s DEMOCRATs had been hiding Maine’s voter rolls because as Adams puts it,

[T]hey were hiding them because there are problems on them. They have dead people; they have lots of duplicates and they have general problems.  It’s something that should have been fixed a long time ago.

The complaint filed says that election officials have not made a “reasonable effort” to remove ineligible voters from the official list. Well, I guess the DEMOCRAT-controlled election board in Maine has tried, for it was worse in 2025 when there were 18,453 dead voters and 1,498 duplicates or triplicates registered to vote.

Now, let’s think about this.  What could that common word be in election schemes and fraud?  Hmm… DEMOCRAT?

Joseph Stalin could have learned a thing or two about dictatorial control, if only he’d had the opportunity to watch Democrats work, and it seems the Democrats already learned all they needed to know for the Soviet monster, well on their way to socialism and communism, at the peoples’ great expense…again.

American Thinker

If you spend five minutes on YouTube, you’ll quickly learn that twenty-something wellness influencers believe you cannot survive sunrise without an eyedropper of yohimbe bark and a $90 mushroom tincture. (If your morning starter is an alcoholic “eye-opener,” put this paper down and call AA.)

Human physiology upon waking is not complicated: after seven or eight hours of snoring, you are dehydrated. If you had three glasses of cabernet with dinner, or if you sleep tethered to a CPAP machine you wake up parched like an Egyptian mummy. Your blood is thick and viscous, which is why heart attacks and strokes love the early morning hours.

The 2:00 AM Bathroom Trap

If you wake up thirsty in the dead of night, do not stumble to the faucet and chug cold tap water. Plain water has zero solutes—your kidneys detect the sudden fluid drop, instantly shut off your antidiuretic hormone, and by 2:45 AM you are standing in front of the toilet cursing your life choices.

Instead, keep a bottle of water on your nightstand three-quarters full with one of two things: a hefty pinch of grey Celtic Sea salt, (it’s on the bottom shelf at Publix) or a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Neither will spike your nighttime blood sugar, but the minerals satisfy cellular dehydration immediately and keep you asleep until daylight.

When morning comes, resist chugging ice water. Downed fast on an empty stomach, it will shock the vagus nerve and can frequently produce nausea and vomiting.

So, what are people reaching for—and what truly works?

1. Hot water and lemon: Influencers call it a “cellular detox.” Your liver and kidneys already do that for free, but the warm citrus wakes up a sluggish gut without making you nauseous.

2. Apple cider vinegar: A tablespoon in warm water blunts post-breakfast blood sugar spikes. Tastes like a salad dressing accident, but your pancreas loves it.

3. Hot water with thinly sliced ginger: Nature’s premier pro-kinetic. The active gingerols accelerate gastric emptying, banish early morning queasiness.

4. Hot water with steeped bay leaves: The old Mediterranean trick. Packed with polyphenols to deflate the morning bloat so your trousers zip up.

5. Water with grey Celtic salt: Table salt is refined road grit. Celtic salt, has its native magnesium and potassium. A tiny pinch creates an isotonic solution your cells readily absorb.

6. Creatine monohydrate: Not just for gym-bros flexing in string tank tops. In older adults, a scoop preserves muscle mass, hydrates brain tissue, and keeps you from forgetting where you left your glasses.

7. Other: I’ve seen them all, from hot water and cayenne pepper to Gandhi and his first voided specimen. If they rehydrate and don’t spike your blood sugar, they’re fine.

8. Diet Coke: A war crime on an empty stomach. Pouring artificial sweetener onto a dry gut microbiome before breakfast is asking for trouble.

The Real Three-Step Morning Protocol:

• Cup #1 (The Rehydrator): Warm water with fresh lemon and a grain of Celtic Sea salt. It thins the sludge in your arteries without upsetting your stomach.

• Cup #3 (The Longevity Coffee): Here is the rule: use a cheap paper filter. Unfiltered coffee—French press, Turkish, espresso, boiled cowboy coffee—is loaded with cafestol and kahweol, two oily chemicals that raise LDL bad cholesterol faster than a plate of sausages. A massive 20-year Scandinavian study tracking 500,000 adults in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that people drinking filtered coffee had a 15% lower risk of dying from all causes and up to a 20% lower risk of cardiovascular death. Unfiltered coffee erased that survival benefit completely.

• Cup #2 (The Green Shield): Hot water whisked with ceremonial matcha—either pure or combined with any of the functional tools above (#1 through #7). Unlike coffee, which kicks you in the chest and abandons you by noon, matcha delivers L-theanine for a calm, zen-like focus.

But cardiovascular health is only half the story. Reproducible cohort studies from Sweden demonstrate that coffee significantly reduces recurrence in breast cancer patients, while blunting the risk of primary cancers—most notably colorectal and liver—as well as dementia. There are more than 500 biologically active phytochemicals inside roasted coffee, but science still cannot pinpoint which exact compound is driving this therapeutic alchemy. We know it isn’t simply the caffeine: tea and cacao do not provide the same clinical shield, and decaffeinated coffee confers virtually the identical benefit.

So, enjoy King Coffee, but let the paper filter catch the sludge. Your heart will thank you, and you can live long enough to annoy your grandchildren.

Dr. Nick, LaGrange Daily News

Call it a tale of two states.

Both Republican-run. Both prosperous. Both heavily populated states that influence the rest of the nation.

Yet in the blue tsunami, the results in Texas and Florida were very different.

“In January … of the 10 largest states in this union, only one state will have Republican control of their state, the state of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday.

“Last night we witnessed—to call it a wave, I don’t think would be fully accurate—it’s the political equivalent of a meteor strike that went all around the United States. Blue states, red states, everything in between,” said DeSantis, a two-term governor.

“And the one state that was able to hold the line and withstand that is right here in the free state of Florida.”

Why was the outcome in Florida so different than in Texas, which DeSantis referred to as Florida’s “chief rival, in a healthy sense”?

“No one holds a candle on the Republican side to the Lone Star State. And yet, not only did they lose a very highly publicized U.S. Senate race, they lost everything,” said DeSantis.

Yet, while the states have much in common, there were three notable differences when it came to the 2026 election.

1. Affordability on the Ballot

It was indeed the $20 burrito election: Both Texans and Floridians cared about the economy.

Four out of 10 Texan Senate voters said the economy was the most important issue, and so did 37% of Florida Senate voters, according to exit polls.

Yet, while Florida and Texas voters shared similar concerns, they had a major split on which party they felt could best address the economy.

Among Florida Senate voters who considered the economy their top issue, 55% voted Republican. But among Texas Senate voters who considered the economy their top issue, only 40% voted Republican.

Why?

One reason might be Florida’s Amendment 3.

“Had Amendment 3 not been on the ballot, you know, I don’t know that we turn out the voters that we ended up turning out. People wanted to vote yes on that and then many of them ended up voting Republican later on down the ballot,” said DeSantis Wednesday.

Amendment 3, which passed 62% to 38% as of the current count, significantly reduces property taxes. Starting in 2027, the first $150,000 of property will be exempt from city, county, and special district taxes, and in 2028, the first $250,000 will be. (School property taxes will still apply.) In one example by Florida TaxWatch, a homeowner would save $1,035 in 2027 and $2,085 in 2028.

That’s a real affordability initiative at a time when voters are understandably concerned about the cost of living. Having it on the ballot not just affected turnout; it also signaled state Republicans had real solutions to address costs.

2. Florida’s Cuban Voters

“Cubans stayed with the Republican Party and prevented Florida from becoming a blue state,” writes Giancarlo Sopo, a communications strategist and National Review writer, in an X post. “According to exit polls, 56% supported the GOP nominee for governor. Every other Hispanic group in Florida went 60-40 the other way.”

“Had Cubans voted like other Hispanics, not only would Floridians have woken up this morning to a Democratic governor and possibly a Senator, the GOP would have three fewer House seats,” Sopo added.

Harvard University student Juan Wulff looked at the votes in Miami-Dade county and found the Cuban vote was significant.

Even so, Cubans weren’t immune to the political winds. Sopo notes that President Donald Trump captured 70% of the Cuban vote in 2024, and Florida GOP candidates in 2026 received 56 to 60% of the Cuban vote.

3. An Actual Socialist Senate Candidate

Angie Nixon, the Democrat Senate candidate in Florida, joined the Democratic Socialists of America in 2026.

While Nixon wasn’t endorsed by the DSA, she did have positions that appealed to that bloc. Nixon, who owns a bookstore and coffee shop called Café Resistance, called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which she said “acts like a rogue paramilitary force,” to be abolished. She also advocated for DEI: “You have to put the DEI policies back in place,” she said in an interview.

Florida and Texas voters are comparable in terms of their views of socialism. Forty-eight percent of Florida voters have a strongly unfavorable view of socialism, and so do 46% of Texas voters, according to exit polls.

But there was some divergence in how they voted. In Florida, 87% of those who viewed socialism strongly unfavorably voted for Republican incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody, who was running against Nixon. In Texas, only 79% of those voters backed state attorney general and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton.

Ultimately, Florida did not entirely escape the effects of the blue wave, even if statewide Republicans eked out victories.

In 2024, Trump won the state by 13 percentage points, capturing 56% of the vote to Kamala Harris’ 43%. Sen. Rick Scott also beat his Democratic opponent by 13 points.

The margins were notably tighter in 2026: With 99% of the votes in, Moody beat Nixon, 50.8% to 47.9%. The governor’s race was even closer: Republican Byron Donalds captured 50.02% of the vote to Democrat David Jolly’s 48.71%.

Meanwhile, despite redistricting, it appears that Republicans are unlikely to gain any U.S. House seats in Florida. There’s also no longer a Republican supermajority in the Florida House, with at least 16 state House seats flipping from Republican to Democrat.

Unsurprisingly, Democrats are paying attention.

“The Republicans are rejoicing today about their wins; they should take a harder look at the numbers and realize that Florida is back to being purple,” said Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party.

As both parties to look to 2028, Florida offers plenty for strategists to consider. Katrina Trinko

Katrina Trinko

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would leave the Electoral College formally intact while changing how participating states award their votes. A member state could back one candidate at the ballot box and still hand every electoral vote to that candidate’s opponent.

That is because the agreement commits participating states to awarding their electoral votes to whoever wins the most votes nationwide, regardless of the outcome within their borders.

The compact activates only when its members collectively control at least 270 electoral votes, the majority needed to win the presidency.

Eighteen states and Washington, D.C., have enacted it, accounting for 222 electoral votes. Supporters need another 48.

Tuesday’s elections put that threshold within reach.

Democrats won unified control of state government in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Those states hold a combined 50 electoral votes, enough to bring the compact to 272 if all four join.

Arizona holds another 11 electoral votes. Democrats were also projected to gain unified control there, although some legislative races remained uncalled Thursday evening. Adding all five states would push the compact to 283.Check Voting Info

But new Democratic majorities do not guarantee passage, and the party has previously failed to enact the agreement even when it controlled state government.

Michigan Democrats did not join during their 2023-24 trifecta, when they held the governorship and both legislative chambers.

Nevada’s then-Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, vetoed the proposal in 2019, citing concerns about the state’s influence in presidential elections.

Even if enough states sign on, a constitutional showdown could follow.

Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 allows states to appoint presidential electors “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.”

Supporters argue that provision gives states the authority to allocate their electoral votes based on the national count.

Opponents point to the Constitution’s Compact Clause, which restricts interstate agreements without congressional consent. Whether this compact requires that approval remains disputed.

Democratic control of Congress would not automatically resolve those questions or sideline President Donald Trump.Check Voting Info

The Congressional Research Service has explained that congressional consent to interstate compacts generally requires approval by both chambers and presentation to the president. If that process were required, Trump could veto the legislation. Overriding him would require two-thirds support in each chamber.

Senate Democrats could also face a Republican filibuster under current rules.

The political stakes are clear. George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 while losing the national popular vote, and Trump did the same in 2016.

If implemented and upheld, the compact would commit a decisive Electoral College majority to the national popular vote winner, changing the presidential contest even in states that never joined.

Democrats’ midterm gains have opened a path to fundamentally changing how America elects its president, potentially locking in the national popular vote winner through an interstate agreement.Check Voting Info

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would leave the Electoral College formally intact while changing how participating states award their votes. A member state could back one candidate at the ballot box and still hand every electoral vote to that candidate’s opponent.

That is because the agreement commits participating states to awarding their electoral votes to whoever wins the most votes nationwide, regardless of the outcome within their borders.

The compact activates only when its members collectively control at least 270 electoral votes, the majority needed to win the presidency.

Eighteen states and Washington, D.C., have enacted it, accounting for 222 electoral votes. Supporters need another 48.

Tuesday’s elections put that threshold within reach.

Democrats won unified control of state government in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Those states hold a combined 50 electoral votes, enough to bring the compact to 272 if all four join.

Arizona holds another 11 electoral votes. Democrats were also projected to gain unified control there, although some legislative races remained uncalled Thursday evening. Adding all five states would push the compact to 283.Check Voting Info

But new Democratic majorities do not guarantee passage, and the party has previously failed to enact the agreement even when it controlled state government.

Michigan Democrats did not join during their 2023-24 trifecta, when they held the governorship and both legislative chambers.

Nevada’s then-Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, vetoed the proposal in 2019, citing concerns about the state’s influence in presidential elections.

Even if enough states sign on, a constitutional showdown could follow.

Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 allows states to appoint presidential electors “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.”

Supporters argue that provision gives states the authority to allocate their electoral votes based on the national count.

Opponents point to the Constitution’s Compact Clause, which restricts interstate agreements without congressional consent. Whether this compact requires that approval remains disputed.

Democratic control of Congress would not automatically resolve those questions or sideline President Donald Trump.Check Voting Info

The Congressional Research Service has explained that congressional consent to interstate compacts generally requires approval by both chambers and presentation to the president. If that process were required, Trump could veto the legislation. Overriding him would require two-thirds support in each chamber.

Senate Democrats could also face a Republican filibuster under current rules.

The political stakes are clear. George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 while losing the national popular vote, and Trump did the same in 2016.

If implemented and upheld, the compact would commit a decisive Electoral College majority to the national popular vote winner, changing the presidential contest even in states that never joined.

Jake, Trending Politics

Both parties agreed on this tumultuous midterm election’s essential point. President Trump wanted voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot.” With his approval at 38%, Democrats happily agreed.

The results were catastrophic for Republicans. They lost almost everywhere, including places where defeat was once unimaginable.

Republicans dropped from 53 in the Senate to no more than 46, with losses in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas as well as Georgia, North Carolina and Maine.

In the House, Democrats are expected to have around 258 seats, a pickup of at least 43. Many Republicans in supposedly safe districts narrowly escaped defeat.

Democrats gained at least five governorships, giving them a majority for the first time in 16 years. The entire statewide GOP ticket in Texas lost. Democrats also picked up at least 500 state legislative seats, and flipped at least 11 chambers, including the state Houses in Georgia, North Carolina and Texas. They will take full control of the legislatures and governorships of Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and possibly Arizona.

This midterm will be remembered decades from now. Republican losses were massive and consequential. What explains the scope of the GOP defeat?

The national environment was toxic. In the NBC News exit poll, nearly half of voters said the cost of living was a “crucial” consideration in their vote. Another 40% said it was a “major” factor. Nearly two-thirds said Mr. Trump’s policies made the economy worse while 62% said they raised prices.

With numbers like that, Republicans were going to have a tough night. But the president made things much worse. Nearly 2 of 3 voters said he had the wrong priorities. Sixty-two percent said he put his personal interests above the country’s while 90% said government corruption was a “crucial” or “major” factor in their vote.

Mr. Trump’s frequent rallies made him the center of attention. He dominated coverage with wild accusations, sloppy insults, and over-the-top bragging. He weirdly focused on the physiques of male candidates. No discipline, no forward-looking message, no substantive line of attack. Just whatever came to his mind as he rhetorically meandered for more than an hour at each rally. He called it “the weave.” It was really a mess.

Mr. Trump also repeated President Joe Biden’s mistake of telling voters not to believe their own experience. They were witnessing, he claimed, “the most successful economy” in “a Golden Age of America.” This angered—even enraged—voters concerned their paychecks were growing slower than prices.

The president thought promising every adult $5,000 if they voted Republican would swing the election. It backfired. Most Americans took it as a thinly veiled bribe he knew he couldn’t deliver.

Republican losses would have been smaller if Mr. Trump spent more time being president and less as campaigner-in-chief. Disciplined messaging focused on economic concerns might have improved his standing and lifted more GOP hopefuls.

Karl Rove