If the Nov. 4 elections were measured on the Richter scale like earthquakes, they would likely register a magnitude of 4.0.
The Richter scale indicates the strength of an earthquake and the level of destruction it causes. A 4.0 rating means those closest to the source of energy had minimal damage. While voters have reason to celebrate these historic victories, it will take efforts with intensities closer to 9.5 or 10 to counteract the destructive impact of the MAGA movement.
There were seismic election outcomes for sure.
New York voters elected Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a democratic socialist, named after Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah. Virginia, a target of Trump’s vicious policies, sent the administration a stinging message by reclaiming the state’s executive branch. New Jersey elected its first female governor.
Then there was Prop 50 in California, where historic voter turnout will allow a redistricting map that favors Democrats.
Since the Trump inauguration, fire and brimstone have been unloaded on working
people every single day. Black folks’ lives have always been precarious under racial
capitalism. The color of our skin and our economic status still determine our standard of
living and our mortality.
Many were inspired by the unflinching stance of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to Trump’s threats to send in the military to a city he claimed to be out of control.
We are not alone. Trump and his minions have trashed just about every constituent group imaginable, from veterans to LGBTQA+ to workers. Voters, weary of being broke
and unhealthy, rose up in one chorus to sing “No Kings.”
The scheme was formulated decades ago to dismantle the government, concentrate
power in the hands of a few and establish a police state. This was set in motion long
before Trump’s elections and before Project 2025.
What we are witnessing now is merely the surface of a deeper issue, with roots that run deep. Chaos and confusion are being deliberately created to keep most Americans struggling and
preoccupied with basic survival.
The Democratic elites should not try to claim the November elections. The historic turnout was more a rebuke of MAGA and its authoritarian scourge. The Democratic Party has fallen out of grace with its constituents because it has been bullied into submission. It’s past time for Dems to get off their knees and represent the mighty working class.
The Democrats who stood up, showed some courage, and expressed new ideas got results, like California Gov. Gavin “Fight-fire-with-fire” Newson. In three months, his campaign was able to galvanize millions of voters to the polls in response to MAGA’s illegal redistricting campaign to steal the 2026 midterm elections.
Mamdani excited voters with a turnout not seen in a mayoral election since 1969. Many were inspired by the unflinching stance of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to Trump’s threats to send in the military to a city he claimed to be out of control.
Trump has caused irreparable harm to this country in ways we do not fully know or understand — harm that will set us back for generations. We, the people, have been slow
to take decisive action, perhaps waiting for the executive, legislative or judicial
branches of government to address the overwhelming abuse of power.
The vote is a powerful tool for participation in a democracy, but it cannot compare to the
strength of a united effort at all levels to halt and correct the dangerous path this country
is on.
History must be rewritten to tell the story of our remarkable, sustained resistance and the strengthening of a broken democracy.
Jamala Rogers is an opinion writer and one of the founding members of the Organization for Black Struggle, based in St. Louis.