Recent election results are a silver lining
Upper Valley residents have had ample cause for anxiety this fall. Partisan gridlock closed the federal government for more than a month, causing federal workers to go unpaid, air travel to be disrupted, and SNAP recipients to go hungry. Meanwhile, health insurance premiums for many will skyrocket in January unless Congress restores federal subsidies.
But these dark clouds have a silver lining: the election results of November 4th, which sent three encouraging messages across this country. First, our two-party political system survives and can still offer a welcome alternative to the current regime. In New Jersey and Virginia, the double-digit gubernatorial victories of Democrats Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, respectively, were a stinging rebuke to an administration that has neglected its citizens’ economic welfare. The two-party system, despite its flaws, beats the cronyism and tone deafness to human needs of a one-party system. In the competitive two-party model, each party offers voters a viable alternative to the other.
Therein lies the second message from November 4th: the accountability inherent in competitive elections. Adverse electoral results show the existing regime that unless it begins addressing voters’ concerns, it will likely be out of power soon.
The final message of November 4th is that women and people of color have come too far to turn back now from pursuing and exercising political power. Sherrill and Spanberger became adults in the 1990s, when, thanks to earlier legal and cultural changes, they could enjoy educational and professional opportunities that were unavailable to my sister and my wife a generation earlier. Sherrill became a naval officer, and Spanberger became a C.I.A. operative. Similarly, a young Muslim man, Zohran Mamdani, was elected Mayor of New York City on November 4th despite the current regime’s persistent efforts against diversity.
Thus, Upper Valley residents should welcome last month’s election results and be hopeful about the future. Competitive party politics and electoral accountability survive, and the United States has its most inclusive pool of leaders and potential leaders ever.