The benefits of a big blue wave

On the eve of the midterm elections, it appears that if Democratic and independent voters turn out in strong numbers, we could be heading toward Democratic majorities in the House and Senate — and an opportunity to begin undoing the harms inflicted on the country during two years of unchecked rule by President Trump and subservient congressional Republicans.

There are many reasons to vote against continued Republican rule. Many voters will be motivated by the administration’s cruelty and corruption as well as Trump’s indifference to people being hurt by his policies’ impact on the affordability of gas, groceries, housing and healthcare.

There are also many reasons to vote for a Democratic alternative to MAGA governance.

One is an affirmation of accountability and the rule of law. In the face of authoritarianism and reckless lawbreaking by the Trump administration, Republican congressional leaders have refused to engage in any serious oversight of the president or his team. That will definitely change if Democrats are given congressional majorities.

Consider the lengths to which Republican leaders have gone to protect Trump from full disclosure of the Epstein files. Now contrast that with the new 50-page report released by House Judiciary Committee Democrats, which revealed additional allegations of rape and sexual assault by Trump and detailed the administration’s efforts to cover up Trump’s connections to Epstein and stifle future investigations .

The mind-blowing levels of financial corruption and self-dealing by Trump and his family cry out for congressional oversight investigations and criminal referrals. So do the brutal abuses of power by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other Homeland Security agencies. Those have resulted in hundreds of illegitimate detentions of American citizens and dozens of deaths in ICE custody since Trump returned to power and Republicans gave them a virtually unlimited budget .

In addition, a Democratic majority in the Senate could dramatically slow Trump’s ability to turn hundreds of unqualified MAGA activists into lifetime federal judges. And that would prevent untold harm to Americans’ rights and well-being. Democratic majorities could begin the process of advancing needed reforms to ensure that the courts fulfill their role of defending the rights of all Americans, not just the wealthy and well-connected.

Democratic congressional majorities could also begin the process of repairing the catastrophic damage that Trump, Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency’s DOGE boys and Russel Vought’s Project 2025 brigade have done to common-good infrastructure in scientific research, public health and more.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who is likely to serve as the next Speaker of the House, has reportedly mapped out some legislative priorities for the new Congress.

That agenda includes making health insurance more affordable by reinstating the Affordable Care Act subsidies eliminated by Republicans in their misnamed “big, beautiful bill,” and reversing the nearly $1 trillion in Republican cuts to Medicaid that are about to make healthcare less affordable and less accessible to many of our country’s most vulnerable people. It would also limit Trump’s ability to wreak economic havoc with reckless and random changes to tariff policy by reasserting Congress’s constitutional grant of authority over tariffs.

There may be significant bipartisan support for some of these items. But the current Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (R-La.), has proven himself utterly unwilling to challenge the White House. Indeed, he has repeatedly sent House members home to try to prevent votes that might prove embarrassing to the president. That is not the kind of leadership Americans deserve. And it seems likely that it is not the kind of leadership we will have to put up with for much longer.

There are caveats to these positive predictions, of course. Polls have been wrong before and they may not capture the full impact of right-wing dark money flooding the elections in unprecedented amounts . And this White House is sufficiently corrupt and dishonorable to try all manner of illegal schemes to interfere with the elections and override the will of the voters. We may be in for a rough ride between Election Day and the swearing-in of a new Congress.

But all signs, including energetic early voting, are pointing to tomorrow’s elections marking a definitive pivot point toward positive change and a government that places a higher priority on the interests of the people than on the whims and riches of a corrupt would-be ruling family.

So much good can ride in on a big, beautiful blue wave. Let’s make it happen.

Svante Myrick is president of People For the American Way .