Matt Bevin, Kentucky’s deeply unpopular Republican governor, was defeated last night by his Democratic challenger Andy Beshear, the state’s attorney general. While Bevin has yet to concede, his defeat, given how closely Donald Trump tied Bevin to his own political fortunes, has dominated the national news headlines, as has Virginia Democrats’ triumphant takeover of both chambers of the legislature. But in cities, counties, and states around the country, there were a lot of other wins—victories for progressives that will have deep impacts on everything from criminal justice reform to affordable housing to strengthening public education.
Let’s fucking celebrate, because when times are bad, all we have is each other.
Virginia
Remember Juli Briskman, the woman who gave Donald Trump the finger in 2017 while riding her bike and then lost her job? On Tuesday night, Briskman, a Democrat running for public office for the first time, won her race to become a Loudoun County, Virginia supervisor, defeating the Republican incumbent Suzanne Volpe.
“It’s feeling fantastic, it’s feeling surreal,” Briskman told the Washington Post. “The last two years have been quite a ride. Now we’re helping to flip Loudoun blue.”
And the Virginia State Delegate Danica Roem, the first openly trans politician to win elected office, won her re-election race in Virginia’s 13th District, defeating a notoriously anti-LGBTQ Republican. At her election night party, Roem told her supporters, “The way we won this race was by taking care of our constituents for the last two years. It was by doing what the people asked us to do. Keeping promises like expanding Medicaid…and while we were doing it we were raising teacher pay by five percent.”
In Charlottesville, Democratic Socialists of America member Michael Payne won his city council race. Payne, per VICE, is a long-time activist who has helped organize counter-protests against white supremacist groups.
Oh, and another side effect of the Democratic takeover of Virginia’s legislature? It has breathed new life into the Equal Rights Amendment.
Arizona
In Tucson, City Councilmember Regina Romero won her election to become the city’s next mayor, becoming the first woman (and first Latinx) to lead the city, and the only Latinx to lead a major U.S. city.
Here’s what Romero had to say upon her victory, per the Arizona Daily Star: “At a time when our national politics have been sown with division, Tucsonans remain united by our shared desire to promote a safe, just and sustainable city that provides economic opportunity for our families and future generations. This movement is open to everyone—whatever your background, whatever your party, whoever you voted for—let’s work together! We will always be one Tucson—somos uno.”
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