Though it appears that Donald Trump will become one of only five incumbent presidents to lose their re- election bid, with the last being H.W. Bush against a sax-wielding Bill Clinton in 1992, many prominent Congresswomen and men retained their seats. This article will take a look at The Squad’s (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Presley, & Rashida Tlaib) four successful re-election bids and why they are important, as well as the victories of Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell. If you did the math at home, that means this article is covering four women and two men.
Sorry to kick you while you’re down, Republicans.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez v. John Cummings
AOC wiped the floor with challenger John Cummings’ face, even as he tossed out zingers like “I think that freedom and liberty versus socialism is the big issue in this election, and that’s why I ran.” Those things aren’t opposites, John. Better luck next time.
Why it’s important
First and foremost, she is an incredible role model for young women in a country where there are still plenty of implicit biases related to the patriarchy. But in addition to the sappy stuff, AOC will retain her positions within the House, one of which is being a very outspoken member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, progressively and successfully putting her proverbial money where her human mouth is.
Ilhan Omar v. Lacy Johnson
In another rout, Omar defeated Republican challenger Lacy Johnson by more than a 2 to 1 margin. Interesting and somewhat comical side note, a gentleman from the Legal Marijuana Now Party named Michael Moore received a respectable 10% of the votes (what a high number), and was closer to Johnson than Johnson was to Omar.
Why it’s important
A landslide political victory by a Middle Eastern woman in the Midwest is something for anyone who believes in equality and progression, and in a city recently torn apart because of the murder of George Floyd and subsequent chaos, that hope for advances in both should remain strong with Omar in the House.
Ayanna Pressley v. Roy Owens
If the other two victories were Wal-Mart, this one was The Supercenter, as Pressley’s district voted for her at a clip of 250,000 to 36,000, a 75% margin of victory. It should be noted that Owens ran as an independent which tends to hurt candidates’ chances if they’re not named Bernie Sanders.
Why it’s important
Much like her great uncle, twice removed, Elvis (don’t fact check that, please) Pressley has a very powerful voice, especially as a Democrat who serves on many financial committees in the House. As movements like defund the police start to work their way into lawmaking, she will be a key voice for the left when it comes to intelligent financial moves aimed to progress this country and its uber-militant police force.
Rashida Tlaib v. David Dudenhoefer
No one can argue that Dudenhoefer is anything less than an awesome last name, but no one can argue that Rashida Tlaib beat his 18% vote share with her own 77% to retain her seat from Michigan’s 13 th District.
Why it’s important
In addition to joining the other three and being another incredible role model for young women, especially minority young women, Tlaib also has a lot of financial insight and serves on three subcommittees within the House Committee on Financial Services. With her other Squad members at her side, there is a lot of reason to be optimistic about financial and civil rights progression with such convincing victories for these four women on the lower end of the age spectrum in Congress. It’s also fair to expect this trend to continue, and new Congresswomen like Marilyn Strickland (the first Korean American woman in Congress) are proof in the proverbial pudding.
Mitch McConnell v. Amy McGrath
Though there was actually a lot of Leftist optimism surrounding McGrath’s chances to dethrone the 35- year Congress veteran, Mitch “My Ancestors are Tortoises” McConnell had zero issues retaining his seat, as he won handily with a 58% vote share. Libertarian candidate Brad Barron also received 4% of the vote.
Why it’s important
Whether you agree with his policies or not, McConnell is as straight-faced a politician as the U.S. has seen, and he could tell you that the Senate just passed a law demanding all puppies are going to be put to death without showing any sort of emotion, especially remorse. From a moral standpoint, this is open to criticism, but when it comes to being a Senate Majority Leader (for now), this man is exceptional at his job. He pulls no punches when making moves to enact policy that his constituents support, and that is worthy of a tip of the hat, as it is his job, after all. With this strong and experienced voice staying at the helm of Senate Republicans, the Democrats’ chances for enacting any sort of cross-party changes remain extremely difficult without a majority.
Lindsey Graham v. Jaime Harrison
At times on Tuesday, there was reason for Democratic optimism in this race, but alas, Lindsey Graham will be serving another term in the Senate, a seat he has held since 2002, after running for an open seat following the retirement of Republican Storm Thurmond.
Why it’s important
A lot of politicians are two-faced for political gain, but Lindsey Graham actually seems like he respects and appreciates Democratic views from time to time. He certainly likes votes as well, and tends to walk back on criticisms he has of his own party. One such party member he was not afraid to call a “race- baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot” was Donald Trump, and as Trump leaves office, some expect these cries to be louder than they were before.
There is a real chance that Graham could be a spearhead in overhauling the racist overtones that Trump and his base brought to the Republican party. Any man or woman willing to speak up to prevent people for voting for racist, Hitleresque presidents in the future deserves some credit, and his status in Washington should make real Republicans (as opposed to Trumpers) optimistic about their party’s chances to mend a tarnished image left by a big, orange dingus.
