I think this election result feels so surprising and buoying because it's one of the first times in my adult life that Republicans seem to have paid a significant electoral cost for their extremism.
If MAGA Republicans significantly underperform regular Republicans, it vastly improves the prospects of defeating fascism electorally.
The results in Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin governor races are huge cause for optimism.
If MAGA Republicans bare no cost for their extremism -- and do as well or better than replacement level Republicans -- we're completely fucked. But, this cycle at least, it seems like they underperformed dramatically.
The one (potentially enormous) note of caution: DeSantis does seem to have figured out an evolution of the MAGA formula.
He might not have the juice to defeat Trump in a primary, but his version of semi-fascism seems more palatable to a general election electorate.
One more takeaway: at a minimum, voters did not recoil from Democrats' focus on defending democracy and defeating fascism.
The warnings may not have helped, but they certainly did not hurt.
Let me put a finer point on this: it seems like MAGA Republicans paid a significant cost for supporting Trump's attempt to overthrow the government.
That's an enormously important result for the future of American democracy.
Ryan Zinke, Trump's Secretary of the Interior, is locked in a tight battle in MT-1 in a R+7 district. MAGA superstar Lauren Boebert is possibly headed for defeat in a R +6 district.
Even if Boebert and Zinke pull it out, those races have no business being close.
MAGA's defeats tonight have two very important implications:
1. it's much more likely the 2024 election will be free and fair (in WI, AZ, MI, PA), and
2. Trump's ability to choose nominees is weakened.
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