At the time I’m writing this, we are a day removed from the supposed arrival of the Blue Wave, where the Democratic party went gangbusters in the 2026 midterms, where numerous states flipped blue, some states saw their Democratic presence strengthen, and even in some of the states where blue didn’t win, the turnout and resistance made it no easy victory.  States like Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and the Carolinas were surprises to see light up blue, at least to me, and the House and the Senate are now both convincingly controlled by the Democrats.

Down here in Georgia, races were called surprisingly swiftly, with Jon Ossoff being declared winner within 10 minutes of the polls closing, which led me to believe that if he won in such convincing fashion, did this mean that other races were going to have strong Democratic showings as well?  Fortunately, the answers did not wait long, and before 9 pm, mythical wife tells me that the governor race is over, and Keisha Lance Bottoms becomes the first black woman to become a US governor.

The rest of the night was spent casually monitoring races throughout the country, and the story appeared to be the same throughout; some results were more surprising than others, but it was undeniable that this was the arrival of the Blue Wave, that the Democratic party had been talking about washing the country since 2016.

Much like Georgia, the usually red Carolinas were swift to turn blue, and all eyes were on Texas, which most would ordinarily assume to go red, but blue forces had built a lead, and it was all about seeing if they could hold on to it.  By the time we went to bed, most of the major races were already over, and Election Night in America was pretty swift and generally drama-free unlike many of the past.

Now I just want to preface that I am pleased with the overall results of the night, and that my nihilistic ass did not expect this, at all.  My faith in the country is so far down the pipes of the clogged toilet that I just assumed it would be another depressing evening of watching red win after red win that really shouldn’t be the case considering all the bullshit across the planet going on under the red team’s banners.

But some of my friends and I were talking about this in our group chat, that although it’s great that team blue has finally showed up, the real battle begins now, and that if there is not considerable ROI in the coming years, the flakey American People will undoubtedly flock back to team red at a moment’s notice, and we’ll be back heading towards the Stone Age, like whenever a less-modern culture brute forces one of your cities in Civilization.

As I said, I’m pleased with the results, but at the same time, I’m sick of feeling like every time an election goes in a direction that I like, that it feels like the US Men’s Hockey team of 1980, like it was some upset, some fluke, and that the big bad evil red Soviets will still win the next 99 out of 100 games.  I’m concerned that things will turn out like 2020, where big things are expected and hoped for, but nothing happens, there’s no results, and then it’ll be 2024 all over again in a few years.

I’m not a very political person, and my opinions are mostly based on surface-level observations, but for once, it seemed like the red side was the one that flexed a little too much casual arrogance going into these midterms, sending a parade of clowns and flagrantly unqualified stooges into these races, and expecting them to reap the benefits of being in houses where they controlled the cards.

And as much as I like the results that I saw, I couldn’t help but feel this nagging opinion that sure, the Blue Wave had a part to do with it, but at the same time, team red also kind of had their foot off the gas, and this was not their strongest collective showing.  Yes, I know that Georgia was won in spite of orange fuck’s repeated visits to the state to campaign and tear down Democratic candidates, but at the same time that clown wasn’t helping anyone over the span of the last few months, with his incoherent ramblings, talking about men’s asses and weird sound effects he made whenever he got in front of a hot mic.

I don’t really know what I’m saying beyond that I’m happy that the elections turned out the way they did, but I have a lot of strong opinions that a win now is only really the beginning of a ton of work that needs to be done and that if it doesn’t happen, we’re always two years away from shit flipping back to the negative status quo.  It would be nice to know that this truly was the dawn of a new era, and not so much the result of an exasperated country that has been lied to and let down and pushed for years just hoping for a change from the difficult norms and were willing to give the alternative a shot.

As far as Georgia is concerned, I’m glad Rick Jackson did not win, but I am nowhere close to being a fan of Keisha Lance Bottoms.  I voted for her not because I believe in her, but because it beat the alternative.  I didn’t think she’d win, so I’m not upset at being proven wrong in this one, and all I can really hope is that she keeps her mouth shut and listens to what the party tells her to do.

By now, I think I’ve lived long enough to have seen when things have been decent versus when things have been shit, and things have been shit for so long, that I’m dubious and skeptical that any glimpse of positivity isn’t just some cruel mirage and comes with a ticking clock over it, with oceans full of circling sharks waiting and pressuring for a defeat, instead of just working with everyone else to build and move onward for a better America.

I get that this post comes off as kind of negative, but I really am glad that the Blue Wave decided to show up, even if it’s like a decade later than it was hoped for.  I just hope that the momentum gained from this can be capitalized upon, and we actually see some positive change start to enact throughout the country, and this ultimately doesn’t end up being a rerun of the 2020 administration. 

Pleased with the result, but skeptical of what comes next.  Long past allowing for optimism, and like all Americans, need to see some actual results in order to know what to feel next.