In tonight’s devastating blow to Trump and his party, Democrats have scored yet another victory in a pivotal midwestern state.
Democrat Karla Bigham has edged out her Republican challenger, Denny McNamara, in tonight’s race to represent Minnesota’s state Senate district 54 by a margin of 50.7 percent to 47 percent. The seat was vacated by Democrat Dan Schoen who resigned in November of 2017.
Tonight’s win keeps Democrats within striking distance of taking back the state Senate. Republicans currently have a razor thin 34 to 33 advantage in Minnesota’s state Senate.
The Republican loss is all the more impressive considering Trump won the 54th district during the 2016 presidential election by a margin of 46 to 45.
Tonight’s victory is only the latest in a wave of stunning Democratic success stories around the country. Thus far, Democrats have unseated Republicans in a vast number of what were thought to be unwinnable races. Aside from flipping New Jersey’s and winning Virginia’s gubernatorial races, Democrats also earned a historic victory electing Doug Jones to the Alabama Senate, the first time that a Democrat has won in that state in a quarter century.
Democrats have also picked up a slew of seats in other races around the country, including those in Georgia, Washington, and Florida.
Since the beginning of 2017, Democrats have flipped 16 seats in special elections. Republicans have only flipped three. In total, Democrats have flipped 36 seats from red to blue since Trump’s inauguration. Even in solidly red districts, such as those in Oklahoma, South Carolina, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri, Democrats are overperforming Trump’s numbers by double digits.
As the Trump administration and its Republican enablers in Congress continue their assault on the will of the American people – from healthcare to tax cuts for the rich to net neutrality to immigration – voters across the country are delivering a serious message to the White House, one race at a time.
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