Samuel Cohn

I am very happy with the success of the Democrats in the election and hope that it will produce a firewall against further abuses of power, appointments of unqualified officials and judges, etc. Beyond this, I think there are some very good signs about American politics. 1. The election of four Black governors, including two in the South, the first female Native American governor, the first Muslim senator, the first Hispanic governor of Texas, and possibly the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction, and the first male openly gay senator collectively represent a huge advance. These outcomes reflect something very healthy about the evolution of the political leadership of the United States towards reflecting our diverse society. This is true whatever one thinks of the people elected. And is suggests that some stereotypes about the prejudices of voters (including my own) warrant updating. 2. Some of the truly vile candidates in this election were defeated. It matters that limits emerged on the willingness to vote for someone because of party affiliation, something that had obviously deteriorated over the last decade. Obvious examples: Ken Paxton and Vivek Ramaswamy. (It is disappointing that Tommy Tuberville, who is equally disgusting, was elected governor of Alabama. I think the same of Mike Rogers' defeat in Michigan. The overt Islamophobia his campaign needed to be repudiated. Special mention should be made of collapse of Bo French in polls and subsequent defeat for Texas Railroad Commissioner once his despicable attack on ethnic South Asian students at UT Austin went viral. 3. With the exception of Rogers, defeated GOP candidates (including the two I singled out) promptly conceded defeat and have followed the good norms of the past. Claims of fraud have scarcely occurred. This is enormously important given Trump's undermining of confidence in election outcomes through appalling lies.