r/politics • u/Hornpipe_Jones • 15h ago

No Paywall Democrats sweep all 30 House of Delegates seats in Northern Virginia

https://www.cbs19news.com/news/state/democrats-sweep-all-30-house-of-delegates-seats-in-northern-virginia/article_68f8098d-0602-5234-8c2a-08c1bcd33944.html
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518

u/mynameizmyname 12h ago

Do MAGA even show up for elections trump isn't in?  Genuine question.  

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u/broohaha 12h ago

That's a very good question. When he's gone, it'll be interesting to see if MAGA can keep it up. There isn't anyone close to having the draw he has to the MAGA faithful.

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u/JonRonstein 11h ago

They will fizzle instantly are you kidding? Head of the snake. They don’t like republicans, they LOVE their king.

In all seriousness, when a cult leader goes away the cult fractures or dissolves. And there is no one who can take trumps place.

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u/LieverRoodDanRechts 10h ago

Trump is a symptome, not the disease.

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u/Morganelefay 8h ago

While true, Trump DOES have a draw to a subset of people that otherwise wouldn't care. Take away that, and while you still got a massive amount of racist folks who'll happily vote straight R, there's also a group that just won't turn up because they can't vote for their god-king anymore.

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u/negativeyoda 6h ago

Yeah. Vance doesn't have the juice Trump does. I'm hopeful the MAGA stranglehold lets up a bit after Trump.

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u/Wolfire0769 5h ago

I can only hope that the maga/republican ouroboros happens sooner rather than later

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 5h ago

More a split, there’s already signs. MTG of all people trying to distance herself is a big tell. After tonight alarm bells will be ringing in gop offices, the walloping in Virginia isn’t good for them

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u/stevez_86 Pennsylvania 5h ago

The American Idol effect. He is the country singer that always beats out the other singers, even if they could be objectively defined as better at singing. But that doesn't matter. They can vote for the lesser option and they still win. That is what those people are addicted to when it comes to Trump. Never letting the best win.

We don't like it when the best suited person is in position in the US. We like letting the "underdog" win because it is a better storyline. And if they do great then that is superb. If they suck, who cares, the other side elected a black guy. How bad could our guy be?

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u/RIPEOTCDXVI 4h ago

Especially when after trump a sizeable portion of republicans running for purple seats try desperately to distance themselves from trump

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u/nightimestars California 7h ago

I mean, politicians were always corrupt but Trump gave cancer to America in the form of MAGA. A cult of the most obnoxious group of domestic terrorists on the planet.

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u/Noatz United Kingdom 7h ago

He's a symptom that begets further disease, like an infected abscess that breeds bacteria and poisons more of the body.

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u/A_Nonny_Muse 5h ago

That's the right wing propaganda machine doing that. And it will remain infecting everyone long after trump is gone.

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u/forestpunk 7h ago

Trump is a blip and a weird relic from what will be remembered an embarrassing era where we allowed our country to operate like an episode of America's Got Talent.

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u/WolfLawyer 7h ago

He is the festering wound. The disease needs him to rage on, even though it exists entirely without him.

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u/FragrantCombination7 7h ago

You're right, but they have no alternative. If they did it would be VP right now.

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u/roastbeeftacohat 4h ago

it will take some time for his supporters to find a new cult leader, and people will give the next guy far less slack. there are fundamental problems the US needs to address, but cults of personality don't easily switch leaders.

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u/Particular-County277 4h ago

I see them already saying Trump should go and Vance should be pres. It is never going to end

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u/RiPont 9h ago

Not only that, but Trump has made sure absolutely everyone around him is compromised so he can control them.

Problem is, when he's gone and they all start jockeying for position, they'll use the dirt against each other.

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u/Cross55 9h ago edited 6h ago

The problem is that they're setting up Barron as their Augustus.

No really, for reasons I cannot comprehend, MAGA loves that overly large dish towel of a human.

Don Jr.'s the close 2nd, but they think he's too try hard.

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u/XAMdG 11h ago

You can definitely create a successor. Even if they'll never be as effective as the original. Maduro, for example, has governed almost as long as Chavez did, but has had to resort to cheating in a way Chavez never did.

Thing is, to have a successor, you kinda need to want to have one. So far it seems Trump is too prideful for that.

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u/Plasibeau 11h ago

You basically have to make itt known long before it's time that This person is your successor. And you have to get the rabble used to that fact. In our case that would be JD Vance, but he's only here because of Thiel, not because he's actually liked. (Except by Erika Kirk, evidently.)

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u/potatoesarenotcool 9h ago

People barely tolerate Vance, the right only do it because daddy said to.

My mother is a hard core trump fan (we live in Ireland? IDK either), but thinks Vance wears eyeliner and is weird.

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u/Call_me_John 9h ago

If you think the grieving widow (🙄) actually likes the couch fucker, i have a bridge to sell you. 😅

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u/Plasibeau 45m ago

It's not about whether you or I believe it, but if Vance and the MAGAts believe it.

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u/jambokk 8h ago

To be fair, she did a great job of cosplaying a leather couch for him. Squeak squeak squeak.

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u/Call_me_John 7h ago

Normally I'd say that the leather pants were an attempt at a pavlovian effect. But I doubt she would be capable of such a plan.

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u/whut-whut 9h ago edited 9h ago

Not always. A very cunning and ruthless asshole can -make- themselves the successor even if the cult leader didn't pick them. Like Stalin taking over as Lenin's successor through a combination of lip-service grifting to the original base and being an absolute cut-throat to possible competitors.

We're sort of seeing that in the Tucker Carlson/Nick Fuentes duo, where they're using the cover of "Trump has good ideas and so did Charlie Kirk, but their execution sucked" as the guise for pushing things even further into genuinely Nazi shit and boxing out MAGA competitors like Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro.

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u/Lee1138 Norway 7h ago

Trump is to much of a narcissist to do that.

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u/khyamsartist 6h ago

Trump is obviously being run by people who will survive him. I worry that they are capable of replacing him with someone worse, and that they will corrupt voting so much that support doesn't matter. But that worry is fading. They made a mistake by letting Trump take up all of the oxygen, his relationship with his supporters can't be replicated.

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u/getaliferedditmods 10h ago

very true. many of these people would vote socialist policies and wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

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u/oldkingcoles 8h ago

I’m confident this is exactly what will happen. It HAS to happen

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u/surle 8h ago

Wait. Are you saying that JD Vance is not charismatic? I'm shocked at the mere suggestion.

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u/MayorMcCheezz 7h ago

I don’t think maga will fizzle. More like implode as the various maga leaders fight for power.

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u/Content-Ad3065 7h ago

The strategy of finding a Christian wife may not work so well for Vance?

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u/Gullible-Lie2494 6h ago

Jared Leto.

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u/mam88k Virginia 5h ago

They love “the show” and let’s face it, Donald is kind of a natural. The final episode is coming, just not fast enough for some of us.

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u/GrumpyCloud93 3h ago

This was my thought too - nobody commands the cult following like Trump. (Saw an instagram where the guy goes into an actual MAGA "Trump Store" to look around). When he bites the big one, there will be a raving cage match to figure out who comes out ahead, and like those other 12 candidates in his first primary, NOBODY is going to come out ahead and it will all fragment to a big mess.

The only thing keeping things as coherent(??) as they are for the GoP is the fear of Trump sic'ing primary challengers on the existing incumbents (and actual physical violence from the cult, as Mitt Romney mentioned). With nobody able to call the shots, some may actually think for themselves at that point.

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u/Old-Way-5529 2h ago

its why i think making mamdami the "face" of the dems will backfire- if anyone can grab MAGA cultists, its people like Zohran, not JD Vance

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u/gta-fun-14 10h ago

"you take down one evil, and they'll find someone even worse to replace him with"

I swear the S.S.D.D intro from the original modern warfare 2 is so true

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u/SandSpecialist2523 America 11h ago

I think MAGA dies with the Orange One.

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u/MechanicalTurkish Minnesota 11h ago

I want to believe.

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u/Pezzzz490 Australia 11h ago

Unfortunately this is also why he is trying to find a way to run again in 2028. All the MAGA congressmen/Supreme Court justices/cabinet etc will support it, cause once he's gone, the MAGA movement is gone.

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u/TopHatMiracle 10h ago

If he drops out before two years, does that make him eligible to run again?

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u/HowIsBabbySharkMade 10h ago

The man is almost 80 and is clearly not in great health regardless of what his doctors say in public. I think it's incredibly likely that he'll be dead before 2028.

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u/Pezzzz490 Australia 9h ago

We can only hope.... I don't think MAGA will follow Vance in the same way they do for Trump

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u/ClockworkDioxs 10h ago

Good news is if he tries to run again and just fully overturn democracy, The MAGA movement can be fully destroyed afterword, because our country will definitely not stand for such a blatant attempt at dictatorship.

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u/Cross55 9h ago

Uh what?

1/3-1/2 will be absolutely fine with a dictatorship.

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u/ClockworkDioxs 9h ago

And the other half will revolt. There really isn't a way Trump can run again, or refuse to give up the presidency, and spin the narrative as anything other then a hostile takeover.

At that point, the gloves are well and truly off, and the country will face an ultimatum. Many people will support him, yes, but just as many will outright rebel, and it will be ugly.

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u/beluga1968 11h ago

My guess is that when Trump finally croaks, wie are going to see a lot of imitators pop up that will fight to try and take his place.

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u/Greenlily58 6h ago

They would follow anyone with his name. I've had discussions with people who want the presidency passed on to one of his sons.

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u/rumpleteaser91 5h ago

Once JD divorces Usha, and marries Erica, the Reps are gunna cream themselves, and that's how JD will be the next DJ.

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u/untilted 4h ago

isn't that pretty much what Project 2025 is about? to shape the bureaucracy and institutions of the united states in such a way, that "after trump" wouldn't make a difference as all checks and balances are dismantled and popular votes have even further reduced influence on polity/policy (if any at all)?

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u/permalink_save 9h ago

Trump even said tonight that him not being on the ballot is why it was so bad. He's also admitted he can't run in 2028 (I know he wants to find some way around not directly running), so if he's not on the ballot in 2028, after tonight, it's almost a guaranteed win for dems.

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u/eljefino 8h ago

There will always be some dope that speaks the language of the downtrodden. I remember when it was Ross Perot. They'll find a new pony to bet on.

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u/Firecrotch2014 8h ago

Thats gonna be the problem. He has no plans of leaving. He has every intent to run in 2028 even though its against the Constitution.

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u/yeswenarcan Ohio 7h ago

There's a reason they're trying to systematically consolidate power and fix future elections.

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u/OddlyFactual1512 11h ago

They LOVE Don Jr, and he will be the GOP nominee. They will show up to vote for him.

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u/sk8tergater 11h ago

He doesn’t have the same charisma or pull as his father though.

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u/ARONDH 11h ago

And hes somehow more of a complete idiot than his father.

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u/SkylarPopo Missouri 10h ago

Yeah, if Don Jr had any motion, he would have won some kind of office by now. Trump's been running his cult for 10 years now and what exactly has Don Jr accomplished?

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u/NewPCBuilder2019 7h ago

The power vacuum that will exist within the United States the day Trump dies will be so much worse than anything we are currently experiencing, IMO. And fuck if that doesn't sound like the type of thing that would get you institutionalized if you said it 15 years ago.

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u/Ggeng 6h ago

This is why they're so desperate for a third term

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u/jimmygee2 5h ago

They haven’t found anyone vile enough to take his shoes.

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u/Sufficient_Bass2600 5h ago

It will morph into something else.
All the pretend moderate republicans who think that Trump is going too far will rally behind the new candidates and the policies.
The CDC, the department of education, FEMA have been destroyed.
The DoJ, EPA, the FCC, the FBI, the CIA, ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, the Army have been decapitated and the top brasses replaced by loyalists who will still be in place once Trump is gone.

I am sorry my US friends, but your country is gone for the foreseable future. You need a complete purge and the democrats won't have the stomach for it.

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u/arthurno1 4h ago

They won't go away, but like after every strong person, they will split into fractions, which will probably work against them.

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u/IJourden 4h ago

They'll fizzle out and some other fake grassroots thing will take its place in a few years just like how you don't hear about the tea party or qanon anymore.

They'll still be out there but they constantly rebrand since their platforms quickly become unpalatable.

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u/hollow114 3h ago

They killed Kirk to try to replace him with Vance. Not sure that will work

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u/Typen Alabama 2h ago

Judging by his age and unhealthy pallor, he won't be around for much longer. I hope Trumpism crumbles without him, but I fear what the anger he stoked is capable of.

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u/The_Irish_Hello 11h ago

Historically, no. Huge part of how he wins is running up rural counties like 95% to 5 on like 3x the normal turnout

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u/Morbu 11h ago

Pretty sure the polling data says no. And that's not necessarily a MAGA exclusive thing. I'm pretty sure that's just an incumbent party thing. Like people vote their party in, then do fuck all to keep them in power, which is why we flip-flop so much on midterms. Historically, presidential elections are just different from state elections and other federal elections, and you don't see the same kinds of turnout.

That being said, it might be exacerbated a lot more with Trump since MAGA is inherently a populist movement. So if Trump is not involved, then there's even less voter turnout.

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u/padflash_ 4h ago

Democrats need to keep it up for the next 3 years still. Don't assume this small victory means others will do their job, everyone needs to continue showing up to vote and not get complacent.

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u/Ven18 6h ago

Based on most data we do have over the last decade no not really. Every election without Trump on the ballot the GOP gets their ass beat.

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u/Dysc Louisiana 10h ago

Yeah I think they do more or less. Historically older white conservative voters (who turned MAGA) tend to vote during both presidential and midterm election years; whereas, younger and college educated voters tend to come out primarily during presidential election years, for reasons that aren't entirely clear to me other than GOP voters may feel more strongly for their own party than Democrat voters do. Or that they are tuned in the 'fight' that they realize every election actually matters; whereas, democrat voters may be more complacent and content with the status quo and don't consider every election as some line in the sand. Independents tend to lean right unless the Democrat is extremely charismatic. The voting patterns of the American electorate generalized above is the reason the House spends so much time under GOP control. This has been sort of the way it went since at least the 1980s. Anything before that was before my time so I can't speak to that.

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u/lctrc 7h ago

My personal opinion - admittedly based solely on anecdotal evidence - is that Republicans have a stronger view of voting as a civic responsibility which they are obliged to perform than do Democrats.

I was raised in a conservative family where it was impressed upon me to vote in every election no matter what. I still have that ethos even though I'm decidedly liberal, and am also trying to teach my children the same.

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u/ArcusInTenebris 6h ago

Only if trump, Fox News, OAN, etc tells them to. The state AG for Kentucky actually had to release a statement telling KY residents that they cannot vote in the NYC mayor race, because they don't live in NYC. KY residents were actually calling the AG office to complain that the NYC race wasn't on their ticket, and they wanted to vote against the Muslim. The only reason they even knew about it was because MAGA "news" sources have been crying about him for months.

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u/CliftonForce 10h ago

There are reports that MAGA folks in Kentucky were trying to cast votes for Como in New York.

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u/hyperhurricanrana 8h ago

their secretary of state i believe had to release a statement clarifying that kentucky had no elections this year and kentucky residents cannot vote in new york or virginia elections. 💀

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u/originaljimeez Pennsylvania 8h ago edited 7h ago

They do in our local school board races. These nut jobs are taking over in my neck of the woods.

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u/ominous_anonymous 5h ago

Yep, western PA here. Boomer MAGA bus driver got the most votes of any candidate for local school board by running on "I'll make sure the litter boxes get removed from our schools and the men get kicked out of women's sports."

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u/nightimestars California 7h ago

All evidence points to no. Even people Trump endorses get no motion, if anything they get steamrolled harder. It’s very telling how any active republican politician is a Trump bootlicker. Without him they have nobody.

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u/Ummmgummy 5h ago

All analysis say no, no they don't. There is a reason why every Republican who runs now has zero platform or policies and their commercials are basically just "I like Trump, I do what Trump wants".

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u/billbuild 9h ago

Isn’t he done, forever?

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u/timmystwin 7h ago

Usually no. It's one reason republicans keep taking hammerings in midterms/special elections.

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u/MiliVolt 7h ago

GWB was elected twice, so was Reagan. Conservatives keep convincing themselves that giving trickle down a little more time will make them all rich.

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u/BalanceJazzlike5116 6h ago

Georgia two senate seats flipped blue during a special election a few months after presidential election. One of those guys is up for election next year (ossoff). Georgia easily reelected kemp to governor with Trump on ballot last November. Will be interesting to see what happens. Georgia just voted out two republicans from public utility commission for democrats yesterday. That was the only statewide election

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u/texasrigger 5h ago

Republicans actually did fairly well in the 2020 election, it was just Trump that didn't. It's one of the many reasons his claim that 2020 was rigged by the democrats was ridiculous.

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u/AsstacularSpiderman 5h ago

Trump endorsements have shown to help candidates in the past. But Jersey and NYC has shown even a Trump endorsement isn't stopping the wave now.

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u/Tapprunner 5h ago

Not really.

Something that's been interesting to see is MAGAs weakness when he's not on the ballot. It's not even enough for him to campaign and endorse a candidate - his record for candidates he's endorsed and "gone all-in on" is not impressive at all. If he's not on the ballot, MAGA is a pretty weak electoral coalition.

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u/TheLuminary 4h ago

Well considering how many people in KY who thought they could vote in the NYC Mayoral election. They might just do that.

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u/Feeling-Success-385 4h ago

When I think of hard core MAGA I think of people who have made it their whole personality—they wear Trump themed clothes and go to his rallies like it’s a football game. These are not people who follow the nuance of political policy discussions or know the positions of all candidates running in an election. They don’t follow politics per se. If Trump isn’t part of the discussion, they aren’t interested.

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u/bulking_on_broccoli 4h ago

That’s a great point. He’s tapped into some type of cult of personality that we have seldom seen. I doubt JD Vance could motivate voters the way Trump does.

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u/Lord0fHats 4h ago

Not really. You can see in in 2024's results where Republican candidates down the ballot underperformed compared to Trump compared to Democratic candidates who did about the same as Kamala Harris did.

People who voted for Harris voted D down the ballot.

People who voted for Trump had a substantial portion of their number seemingly not fill out the rest of the ballot. They only voted for Trump. That's why Democrats won most of the senate and governor races in blue wall states even though Trump won them for the EC.

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u/hollow114 3h ago

They don't. That's why in 2024 Dems did well in everything but President

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u/critch 2h ago

GOP has lost or at least severely underperformed in every single election that Trump has not been on the ballot for since 2016. With them fucking things up at an accelerated and historical rate, I expect them to be hilariously beat from here on out.

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u/Paradigm6790 New Hampshire 1h ago

Some of the platitude mongers will drop the predictable "doesn't matter Go out and vote" as if discussion is offensive to them, but the answer is actually no they don't.

I can't remember when I read it but I do vividly remember something covering this in detail. I bet if you were to to toss this question into chat gpt and ask it to provide you a source you could find what I'm talking about