Our Blue Elections

Did you vote yesterday? If you want to stand up for your values it is important to vote for the candidate that you agree with now. America celebrated Trump's first year in office by voting against everything he stands for. The Democrats did very well in this election all over the country. In 2018 there will be a lot   of decisions to be made and to set up those decisions the way you want it to go would have been to vote this year. 2018 will be an important voting year because three quarters of our nation’s governors will be re-elected or be elected. In ten of our largest states, there will be crucial Senate races. There will also be races in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. All 435 members of Congress will be voted on. With all these new possibilities, there is a chance that there will be a new look to American politics and the party dominance.

If you are concerned about gun control, you need to vote at least in the states with the most guns on the streets legal or illegal. 54% of the people in Wyoming own guns. 55% of the people in West Virginia own guns. 57% of the people in Idaho own guns. 58% of the people in Arkansas own guns. The American state that people own the most guns are in Alaska with 62% of the population with weapons. You need to vote if you want those numbers to change.

The faces of the winning politicians changed this year. A turban wearing man won an election along with a trans-gender person and more women won in states this year.  Democrats won governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey. A democrat won the Attorney General race in Virginia as well as the Lt. Governor   Democratic job to a black man. The biggest upset was when a democrat won the Governor job in Virginia since he was running against the Republican, Ed Gillespie who was the former Chairman of the Republican National Committee. How could such a high powered Republican lose in a Republican dominated government we live in now? Are the tides slowly changing?

Republican Chris Christie is no longer Governor of New Jersey and leaves his job with a terrible reputation. He has only a 14% approval rating and a whopping 76% disapproval rating for the job he did for New Jersey. He leaves with the distinction of being the least popular Governor in the history of New Jersey. Some pols go even further to indicate that Chris Christie was the least popular Governor in all of America. Are these wins indicative that people are already of Trump’s approach to governing? Are people saying with their votes that our country is better than what we are getting from Donald Trump? The Democrats won and picked up several seats in the Virginia Legislature.

If nothing else this year's votes showed support for recognizing the diversity of America. Danica Roem won a seat of delegates in Virginia. She is the first openly transgender lawmaker. Hala Ayala and Elizabeth Gusman will be Virginia's first House of Delegates Latina lawmakers. Cathy Tran will be a lawmaker who was a refugee from Vietnam and is the first Asian-American to have that position in government. Revenda Bala is a Seike and won Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey. Jenny Durkin will be Seattle's first lesbian Mayor. There is also the first Black Mayor of a town in Montana history, Wilmot Collins came to America as a refugee from Liberia. There is Andrea Jenkins who won a seat on the Minneapolis City Counsel who is the first Black, openly transgender office holder in the nation. Also, 93 year old, World War II Veteran won the job of being Mayor of Tinton Falls, NJ. It is good to see that only in America shows opportunities for all Americans again.    

The level of support for the Democrats were more than expected. Justin Fairfax a Democrat won the Lt. Governor race and it is significant that he is just the second African-American ever to be elected statewide there. New York City re-elected their Mayor with 90% of the vote Bill De Blasio. Is this just the start for significant change in our government? Time will tell.