Since August, President Donald Trump told voters in places like Texas, Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina to vote as if he were on the ballot.

They did.

Tuesday night, their message was unequivocal: It’s time for change. States that haven’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in 90 years voted to do so. Texas finally went blue. Voters turned out in huge numbers because their families are struggling to make ends meet, repudiate corruption and check a president who has gone too far. They cast their votes to hold Donald Trump and Republicans accountable for having total control of Washington but making their lives worse off.

Exit polls confirm that voters were driven by the high costs of gas, food and utilities — blaming Trump’s tariffs, cuts to healthcare and his baseless war with Iran. Trump’s broken promises to lower prices echoed against his focus on oil company profits and vanity projects.

Corruption also dominated voters’ concerns across party lines, as Americans see politicians getting richer while in office through insider trading and self-dealing.

It has been impossible not to see taxpayer money go to Trump-linked firms, pardons for sale, and government funds held hostage for political reasons. Americans increasingly understand that corruption directly affects their pocketbooks.

Many voters were concerned about the immigration crackdown that has torn so many families apart and resulted in American citizens being shot dead by federal agents. The coalition that helped hand Trump a victory in 2024 came apart, with Latinos, Black men and young voters shifting back toward Democrats. These voters helped fuel wins by Democrats in House races across the South, including in Texas and Florida, where Republicans redrew districts at Trump’s direction. Those efforts to subvert voters’ will through unprecedented gerrymandering largely backfired.

Americans also rejected billionaires’ attempts to buy elections via extreme spending. Elon Musk alone spent nearly half a billion dollars to drown out voters’ voices. Most of the $168 million he gave to the Senate Leadership Fund was used to boost Republican Ken Paxton in Texas. Musk didn’t succeed this time, but no billionaire or corporation should decide who represents us.

Ruby red Montana, with a long history of combating money in politics, led the way and voted overwhelmingly to pass a ballot initiative that removes corporations’ state-granted power to spend money in politics. Montana joins Hawaii, where a similar law passed nearly unanimously earlier this year — and together, this momentum paves the way for citizens in other states to do the same.

We also learned that Americans do, in fact, care about character and civility. Democratic candidates like Adam Hamilton in Kansas and James Talarico in Texas won their bids to join the Senate by imbuing their campaigns with moral messages rooted in their faiths. Others like Abdul El-Sayed stood fast under vile attacks on their religion.

Americans rejected hate, sending a message that it’s time to rebuild the bonds between us. America has aspired to a radical idea that it doesn’t matter where you’ve come from or how you pray, only that you buy into a democratic government in which people hold the power, not a king.

This year’s elections stood as a testament to the thousands of brave state and local election workers who did their jobs with little fanfare. They upheld the law, even in the face of vile threats of prosecution from the Trump administration, ensuring our elections remain some of the best-run in the world. Every vote will be counted, winners will be certified and seated, and we will look back on a free and fair election.

For congressional Republicans, Tuesday night’s results should be evidence that Donald Trump is a losing proposition. His time shaping our political landscape is coming to an end. It was his policies, broken promises, crassness and incompetence that left Republicans routed. The party now has a choice to stand up to the president and work with Democrats to deliver on the policies Americans are demanding, or else drown with a sinking ship.

Democrats would be wise to remember that Trump was on the ballot this year; next time they will be judged. They must act aggressively to put ordinary families first, lower costs, hold the administration accountable and root out corruption. Votes are rented, not owned, and elected leaders must show they’re truly willing to put Americans first.

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ABOUT THE WRITER

Ben Olinsky is the senior vice president for structural reform and governance policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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