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A Remarkable Moment in U.S. History

A diminished MAGA government remains acutely dangerous. But the path to consolidated authoritarian rule is shut. America must use this fleeting window for transformation.

By Thomas Zimmer, November 8, 2026

credit: iStock / paseven

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Tuesday, November 3 was a good day for democracy in America. A historic day.

Democrats won strong majorities in both chambers (Opens in a new window) of Congress. When it’s all said and done, they will have won the House popular vote by around 14 percentage points (Opens in a new window). By that measure, this is the most devastating defeat for a governing party since 1974.

As the dust is beginning to settle, it is really worth reflecting on the larger implications of this remarkable result. I want to offer six observations and arguments about the historical significance of this election – and where America might go from here:

1) Not that more evidence should have been necessary, but the result of the midterms proves once and for all that there was no lasting rightward “realignment” in 2024, no “vibe shift” in American society and culture. In fact, we should all remember that an election is rarely an ideological referendum – and it certainly doesn’t manifest some durable “will of the people.”

2) The idea that this election was entirely about affordability is diagnostically misleading and politically harmful. Yes, cost of living and the economy played a big role. But so did corruption and the authoritarian assault on democratic self-government. This was about all of those things. And it was very much a plea for accountability from the majority of the electorate.

3) Multiracial democracy returned – or, in many ways: conquered for the first time – the American South where reactionary one-party regimes have been the historical norm. It is impossible to overstate how much of a political earthquake that is. It has the potential to drastically reshape the political landscape across the Republic.

4) One election is not enough to restore functioning democracy in the United States. But as much as the authoritarian threat has been acutely real: The MAGA government has now lost so much legitimacy that there is no more realistic pathway for them to get from here to consolidated authoritarian rule.

5) Unfortunately, until they can finally be removed from power, the MAGA government remains dangerous and will continue to cause tremendous harm. In fact, as delusion, authoritarian desires, ideological zealotry, ineptitude, and mounting desperation all combine, we must expect them to seek escalation whenever and wherever they still possess agency.

6) There now exists, potentially, a window for the kind of transformational change this country so desperately needs. But it won’t stay open for long. Such moments are rare in U.S. history, and they are always fleeting. We better remind Democratic elected officials that they now have an enormous responsibility not to waste this opportunity.

Let’s go through each of these points one by one and make sure we truly grasp the significance of what happened here. Because moments like these are rare in history.

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