I expected a blue wave. Instead, we saw a tsunami.
Democrats won in places they haven’t won in over 100 years. Ultimately, this election served as a full rejection of Donald Trump’s fascist regime. It did not, however, serve as a broad endorsement of the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party does not possess a national platform. It is still a complete mess. Neoliberal, corporate Democrats won by spending millions of dollars on ads, while progressive and democratic socialist candidates won with people power.
Progressives like Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Dr. Adam Hamawy inspired people. DSA candidates like Claire Valdez, Donavan McKinney, Will Lawrence, Darializa Avila Chevalier, Melat Kiros, and Angela Gonzales-Torres electrified their districts. Their victories give me hope. I hope you feel some semblance of hope, too.
At the same time, we saw many, many progressives and DSA candidates lose in the 2026 primary to corporate Democrats. We cannot forget that. While candidates like myself came up short, we helped build a foundation for 2028 and beyond.
Corporate democrats are not stupid. There’s a reason why Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said affordability and not accountability today. At the end of the day, Democrats like Rep. Jeffries and Sen. Schumer are more accountable to the billionaire class than they are to the working class. I have zero faith that their leadership in the US House and US Senate would deliver any material benefits for working people.
The road ahead will be long. We must find a way to push these corporate Democrats to reject big money and join progressives to pass policies that deliver immediate and long-term material benefits to the working class.
As I look ahead to 2028, I see a great chance the Democrats will maintain the US House and US Senate, while winning the Presidency. It won’t matter, however, unless we have the right type of leadership in Washington.
I believe it is imperative that we stop giving politicians grades and start giving them checklists. In the next phase, it’s pass or fail. You are either a candidate who will vote to abolish ICE, or you are not. You either support Medicare for All, or you do not. You either support ending military aid to Israel, or you do not. If you’re a Democrat who fails to check all the boxes, expect to be primaried. We cannot allow ourselves to make the same mistakes again and again and expect a different result.
There is no going back to brunch and pretending that Donald Trump’s fascism never happened. We have systemic issues in our country that we must learn from, reckon with, and overcome. Oligarchy is also still very much alive in our country, and I expect the billionaires to continue asking for handouts and tax breaks, while working class Americans struggle.
In my opinion, you can trace every problem in America back to capitalism. Greed and corruption are rampant in our society. Our system feels unfair, because it is, but we don’t have to accept that system any longer.
We cleared the first hurdle, but there’s a long, long way to go if we want to build a country that works for all working people.
I’ll see you in the streets.
In solidarity and in service,
Dylan Blaha
Founder, The Unfinished World
Veteran · Scientist · Organizer
Dylan Blaha is a pro peace US Army veteran, scientist, organizer, human rights activist, and the State Director of Let’s Address Illinois. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the US Army or the Illinois National Guard. Thank you for your support in our fight for working class Americans.
Amen and thank you👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼