One year after the biblical-grade disaster of Donald Trump winning the presidency, Virginia voters had a choice between Democrat Ralph Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie.
This race, more than the others this year, was taken as a referendum on Trump. This is because Gillespie had echoed the president with a fact-challenged, race-baity campaign in a state carried by Clinton last year.
Now that he’s lost to Ralph Northam, Trump reacted the way he always does when his bets don’t turn out the way he thought: by pretending he’d never made that bet in the first place.
Since I’m writing this at 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday, and we could conceivably be dead by the time this publishes, here’s what could happen as a result of this.
- Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell get proper terrified of a 2018 Democratic wave.
- They decide to stop putting up with Trump’s nonsense and might force him to at least resolve his self-dealing before they put a tax plan on his desk.
- Republican primary voters, who still overwhelmingly like Trump, will primary out at least a plurality of incumbent “establishment” Republicans. This will be furthered by Steve Bannon’s efforts.
- Because there will be another full year of Trump acting like himself between now and the midterms, as well the creeping realization that the GOP governs for its donors first, Democrats will flip a large number of seats and will be in a position to check his abuses at full blast.
- Under this pressure, Trump will behave even more erratically than ever, if Robert Mueller doesn’t get him or he resigns.
- If impeachment is on the table, a coalition of establishment Republicans and Democrats might be able to rally against Trumpists elected in 2018 to get rid of the eyesore before he does something really stupid. If not, Trump will very likely lose in 2020. If one year was enough to cause a small wave, what would four do?
Other Fun Anecdotes:
- The first openly transgender elected official in US History, Danica Roem, won a seat in Viriginia’s State Legislature. The guy she beat wrote the state’s infamous bathroom bill.
- Chris Christie’s Republican successor lost to Democrat Phil Murphy.
- For Christie's part, he got into a spat with a voter, clearly done with being liked in the slightest.
One lesson Trump should learn, but probably won’t, is to watch his back — we’re coming for him next.
Logan Graham is a senior studying media arts with a focus in games and animation at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. How do you feel about last week's elections? Let Logan know by emailing him at lg261813@ohio.edu.
