President Trump and Republicans woke up Wednesday nursing their wounds after another crushing night at the ballot box.
In Miami, Democrat Eileen Higgins trounced her Trump-backed opponent, Republican Emilio Gonzalez, in the mayor’s runoff race — a post Democrats hadn’t won since 1997.
Just up the road in Georgia, Democrat Eric Gisler pulled off a stunning win in a state House special election, flipping a seat that most of the political world considered a Republican shoo-in.
That victory came barely a month after Democrats scored a pair of wins on the Georgia Public Service Commission.
The timing was bad for Mr. Trump. He’s been trying to reset the conversation around the economy and affordability — issues that have dogged him in off-year contests and dragged down his approval rating. Hours before the losses rolled in, Mr. Trump was in Pennsylvania, hailing what he sees as his economic success story while trying to pin the blame for higher costs on President Biden and Democrats.
“Democrats talking about affordability is like Bonnie and Clyde preaching about public safety. And they truly are the enemy of the working class,” Mr. Trump told the packed crowd. “They gave you high prices. They gave you the highest inflation in history, and we’re bringing those prices down rapidly. Lower prices, bigger paychecks.”
Voters, though, are sending a different message. Tuesday night’s results added to a string of off-year and special election setbacks for Republicans, giving Democrats fresh bragging rights and momentum heading into next year’s midterms, when House Republicans will be defending a razor-thin majority.
Ms. Higgins’ nearly 19-point win will make her Miami’s first Democratic mayor since 1997.
Mr. Gisler’s narrow victory over Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest — whom Democrats tied closely to Trump — stunned even seasoned operatives. “People were fed up with business as usual. People are looking for solutions,” Mr. Gisler told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin framed the results as a rejection of Republican candidates who were “ready to rubber-stamp Donald Trump’s inflationary agenda.”
Mr. Martin said voters backed Democrats because they’re focused on reducing costs.
“Tonight’s result is yet another warning sign to Republicans that voters are fed up with their out-of-touch agenda that is raising costs for working families across the country,” he said.
Republicans did notch a win last week in Tennessee, where Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn in a special election for the U.S. House. But even that nine-point margin was narrower than Trump’s 22-point victory in the reliably red district just a year earlier.
The broader trend hasn’t been kind to the GOP.
Last month, Republicans suffered high-profile defeats in Virginia and New Jersey, where Democrats cruised to victory in gubernatorial races and tightened their grip on state legislatures.
In California, voters approved a referendum that could hand Democrats five new congressional seats — a direct counter to Texas Republicans’ redistricting push.
For some, the most telling results in November came in Georgia, where Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard scored landslide wins in Public Service Commission races, underscoring just how much ground Republicans have lost in places they once considered safe.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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