Isa Abbott, Opinion Editor
“As I watched the Electoral College turn America’s states red, I realized I lived in a world in which I may never know if a woman can be president. More than anything, I recognized I lived in a country where more than half of its voters voted for a rapist and a convicted felon over a woman; a dangerous reality, indeed.
I slide to the ground, my back against the wall. Piercing silence fills my head and the room around me. It grows louder. Is this what the next four years will be like? As the days go on, people tell me I should move on, but how can I when my rights will be stripped and our lives will be dictated by a misogynistic man? The silence will grow louder and louder over the next four years, and I wonder if anyone will ever hear me.”
When I was a first-year at Denison, I wrote these exact words in my article on what the 2024 presidential election meant for women. Back then, and for the last two years, I felt nothing but dread and fear. I felt hopeless, and like the whole world had voted against me and millions of other women. In addition, I have been notorious for writing multiple articles criticizing the Trump administration for their poor taste in policy and ideology. Throughout these past few years, I’ve always felt like I’ve been holding my breath and waiting for a moment where we can finally let go and heal from this administration. However, on Nov. 3, instead of watching our states turn red, I watched them turn blue.
From that point on, I realized that we did once live in a world where some people did not learn their lesson the first time. We did live in a world where people voted for a man convicted of sexual abuse and a felon over a woman. However, most of the American people have changed their minds and their hearts. Many Americans have voted not for what felt like a dangerous reality, but instead, from my perspective, a reality of love, kindness, joy and representation for all kinds of communities.
Such representation within the midterm elections was reported by the New York Times, when they posted a visual of a timeline of the Senate flipping. Ohio has not had a Democrat in the Senate since 2018, North Carolina has not had a Democrat in the Senate since 2008 and the same goes for Iowa. South Carolina has not had a Democrat in the Senate since 1998. Texas has not had a Democrat in the Senate since 1988, and Kansas has not had a Democrat seat in the Senate since 1932.
In addition, the election results currently show that the Democrats have gained seven seats for the Senate, 42 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and five seats in the governor’s offices. But more importantly than increasing democratic voter representation, there is also an increase in representation for different races and genders. A Latina, Gina Hinojosa (D), took the place of Greg Abbott as Texas governor. We elected the first Palestinian woman in New York’s legislature, Aber Kawas. The first woman elected governor of Ohio, Amy Acton. Two Native American women were the first to be elected to the Senate and as governor, Peggy Flanagan and Deb Haaland. Illinois became the first state to have two women of color in the Senate, Tammy Duckworth and Juliana Stratton. In addition, there are so many more people who are representing our states and different communities. Also, for the first time ever, more than 100 Democrat women will be in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Although Democrats have won the midterm elections, that doesn’t mean things will immediately change. I feel it is clear that many Americans have voted against the Republican party. From my view, this insinuates that they have also voted against Trump. Democratic gains in Congress could increase the possibility of another impeachment effort. However, while the House needs only a simple majority to impeach a president, conviction and removal require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, making bipartisan support essential.
After most of the midterm results, JD Vance announced his views on NBC News, stating he felt republicans lost their seats because of the war in Iran. The war has caused multiple economic disparities for many lower and middle class Americans, but has mostly caused the price of gas to reach the highest it has ever been, making living unaffordable for many. Such policies by the Trump administration are what Vance believes could have cost them the midterms.
Two years ago when Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Kamala Harris said, “On the campaign, I would often say: When we fight, we win…Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. The important thing is: Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place.”
I felt like the midterm results were a great representation of how many Americans and politicians fought against the Trump administration for the last several years. Though Kamala lost the 2024 election, I don’t believe it was ever a true loss. It meant that Democrats had to keep fighting to win against our democratic backsliding, unaffordable living and an administration whose plan is to limit woman representation and choices in the SAVE Act and supporting pro-life policies. That kind of fight is never a loss. In my eyes, it is always a win to be on the side of history that cares deeply about equal rights, representation, affordability and promoting democracy. However, it was just that on Nov. 3, those victories felt louder, and were more visible than ever.
At the end of the same opinion piece I wrote on the 2024 election, I recalled that “the day after the election I opened my door and saw a sticky note from my dormitory’s janitor. She wrote, ‘Keep hope alive! You are not alone.’ At that moment, I knew I would never give up fighting for my rights and I will continue the conversation instead of moving on from it.”
I still have this sticky note on my fridge from my first year at Denison. I read that note everyday for the last two years in every moment I felt like there was no hope or fight left to give. There will still be more fights in the future, and even now. I don’t know what is to come, but what I do know is that the midterms were, for me, a symbol of many Americans caring deeply about our democracy, and about women.
It is because of this that from Nov. 3 and on, I finally feel like the silence has dimmed, and I know people hear me. I know that what I have to say as a woman and an American matters, and that what I thought was impossible can be possible. Hope is alive. The breath that I have been holding in for so long can now be released. This is where my healing starts.