I’ve voted in a lot of elections. I’ve celebrated some and mourned others. But I can’t remember the last time I woke up the morning after an election feeling the way I did after the 2026 midterms blue wave this week: happy, grateful, and a little shocked.

Two Years of Holding My Breath

November 2023 was one of the two most depressing election nights of my life. After four chaotic years of Donald Trump’s first term, I truly believed the country had seen enough. Instead, voters handed the presidency back to a man who had been convicted of 34 felony counts and found liable for sexual abuse in civil court, a man I believe shows every sign of malignant narcissism.

I remember seeing the results and wondering what had happened to the country I was raised to think was best in the world.

A War Launched by One Man

What followed confirmed my worst fears. In early 2026 the President took the United States into war with Iran without asking Congress for authorization. The Constitution gives Congress, not the President, the power to declare war. That wasn’t a technicality to me. It was the whole point.

The consequences were dire. Oil shot past $100 a barrel, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was choked off, and economies around the world braced for an energy shock not seen since the 1970s. One man’s decision put the world’s economy at risk.

Then the 2026 Midterms Blue Wave Came

On November 3, 2026, voters answered. Democrats scored massively and took control of both  the House and the Senate. Turnout broke midterm early-voting records, and races in places no one expected to be flipped.

It wasn’t one party’s clever strategy. It was millions of ordinary Americans saying, calmly and clearly, enough.

The Only Comparison I Have: Watergate

I’ve lived through a lot of political swings, but the only turnaround I can compare this to is the aftermath of Watergate. In 1974, after Nixon’s resignation, voters sent a wave of new members to Congress determined to restore checks and balances. Democrats gained 49 House seats that year.

That election reminded the country that no president is above the law. This one did the same.

What Comes Next

A wave is not a cure. The work of oversight, of reasserting Congress’s war powers, and of repairing our standing in the world starts now. But for the first time in two years I feel something I’d almost forgotten: hope.

The system was bent extremely far but, it didn’t break.