The most diverse, anti-establishment Congress in history is cause for optimism

After years of outrage or numbness being the main options for dealing with politics, Tuesday’s results were permission to be optimistic This was originally published in the Stakes 2026, a newsletter about the midterm elections. Sign up to get it in your inbox We shed some tears this midterm cycle. US politics always makes people emotional, but I heard from friends and colleagues many times this year that speeches, campaigns and underdog success stories moved people in unexpected ways, whether it was this ad of Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed doing bedtime , a photo of newly elected Texas Democrats James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa at a Whataburger, or Georgia’s Keisha Lance Bottoms becoming the first Black female governor in the entire country. Continue reading...