Going into election night, the polls continued to show the presidential race was tied, without any clear idea of who would win. Many people expected that the final results could take days because the presidential race was so close. But in the end, the result was unquestionable. Trump won in every swing state, and even won the national popular vote for the first time. The Republicans have won control of the Senate and also likely the House of Representatives (where many votes have not been counted yet).
The election results confirmed what many have been saying for months, that there is very little enthusiasm for the Democratic Party. For the first time, more voters who registered as independents voted for president than voters registered as Democrats. For the presidential election, 34% of independents voted, compared with 34% of Republicans and only 32% of Democrats. In New York, which usually votes overwhelmingly for Democrats, fewer people voted for Harris than for any Democrat since 1988.
The Democratic Party has had the presidency for nearly 12 of the last 16 years, a period when the lives of most working-class people have gotten worse. The cost of living has continuously skyrocketed while the richest in society have only gotten richer. In the middle of the horrible crisis caused by the Covid pandemic, Biden and the Democrats were elected in 2020 after making huge promises, including to provide better paying jobs, affordable housing, environmental protections, support for immigrants, general support of workers’ interests, and more. They delivered nothing. The cost of living — from food and fuel to housing and health care — has continued to skyrocket, staying far above pre-pandemic levels. The lives of most working-class people have only become more difficult.
Meanwhile, the Democrats approved a record number of drilling permits for fossil fuel companies. They arrested and deported record numbers of migrants at the border. They intervened on the side of corporations against workers. This included the possibility of a nationwide railroad strike in 2022, when workers were demanding safer conditions for themselves and the communities that the trains run through. And the Democrats have spent tens of billions of dollars supporting Israel’s horrific genocide against Palestinians, while they have slashed spending on social services, like food assistance and childcare services for the poor.
In state after state, much of the voting data showed many working-class people could not bring themselves to vote for the Democrats. And in the end, Harris did worse than Biden did in 2020 in nearly every single county in the country. From households that earn $100,000 or less, in 2020 Biden received 56% of the vote, while Trump received 43%. But this time, Harris only received 47% of that vote to Trump’s 50%. In Missouri, while Trump defeated Harris by a margin of 58% to 49%, voters passed a proposition that increases the minimum wage and guarantees paid sick leave.This shows that when working people had a choice to vote to improve their lives in specific ways, they did.
As support for the Democrats dwindled, support for Trump and the Republicans increased. Trump ran a campaign of lies, with many promises for many different groups of people. But it is important to see that a vote for Trump does not mean agreement with all of his policies and views. Many voters simply saw a vote for Trump as the only way to vote against the Democrats. In fact, ten states had abortion rights on their ballots in some form. Seven of them protected abortion rights. In four of those seven —Arizona, Missouri, Montana, and Nevada — a majority voted for Trump. Many people were able to vote to protect abortion rights and still vote for Trump, or vote against the Democrats.
But now that Trump has been elected, with likely Republican control of Congress, we can expect to see an acceleration of far-right policies, from handouts to the rich to attacks on workers’ unions, immigrants, reproductive health care, the LGBTQ population, and much more. Who knows what else may be in store?
It’s true that both the Democrats and the Republicans support this system, and defend the interests of the banks, the corporations and the super rich. But with Trump, the mask is ripped off. On immigration, the Democrats promise humane treatment, as they arrest and deport undocumented migrants at record numbers. Meanwhile, Trump promises a mass roundup of undocumented immigrants, while he calls them all criminals who are “poisoning the blood of our country.” The Democrats support Israel’s genocide while complaining about the loss of life. Meanwhile, Trump wears his support for genocide like a badge of honor, and encourages Israel to kill Palestinians and “finish the job.”
Many people woke up after Election Day feeling despair, with increased anxiety about what the future may bring. Others may have believed some of Trump’s lies and may be feeling hopeful that some things could get a little better. But now, regardless of how we are feeling, it is time to find our common ground as a working class, and unite our forces to build up resistance against all of the attacks that are already raining down on us and the more to come from both parties. We must not fall for the promises and lies of the Democratic Party, as they try to convince us that the only way to fix things is to wait for the next election to vote them in. If we fall for that, then we’ve already lost. And the same goes for the Republicans. Instead, we need to gather our forces, not only to push back against the attacks we face, but to fight to change their whole system. Now is the time not to mourn, but to organize.
