Last night’s election results brought something I haven’t felt much of lately: hope. Across the country, Democrats notched big wins at nearly every level. From moderate centrists in swing districts to left-wing candidates like Zohran Mamdani in New York, the results suggest a broad coalition that finally seems to understand what’s at stake and how to win again.

For me, the most heartening thing wasn’t any single race, but the overall story these results tell. It’s proof that a wide tent approach still works. When Democrats focus on the issues that actually affect people – housing, healthcare, reproductive rights, education – and stop letting purity tests dictate who’s “acceptable,” they can appeal to the full spectrum of voters who are tired of chaos and extremism. Even in Georgia, two Democratic commissioners were elected, something that would have seemed improbable a decade ago. And with Prop 50 passing, there’s now a real path for Democrats to take back the House next year. That’s not nothing.

It’s tempting, in moments like this, to get swept up in optimism. After years of bad headlines and creeping authoritarianism, any sign of progress feels like a lifeline. But the truth is that winning elections is only the beginning. Governing effectively, and undoing the damage of the Trump era, is going to take years of unglamorous, detail-oriented work. As Derek Thompson wrote, “turning the tide is different from cleaning up the mess.” And there’s a lot of mess to clean up.

We’re still living in a country where basic democratic norms are under attack, where media outlets thrive on outrage instead of facts, and where trust in institutions is at an all-time low. Even if last night signals a shift in momentum, we’re nowhere near out of the woods. It’s going to take more than one good election cycle to rebuild faith in democracy and create lasting progress. But for now, it’s okay to feel good. It’s okay to take a night to appreciate that people showed up – in red states and blue states alike – and said “enough.” Enough with the cruelty, the lies, the obsession with culture wars over actual governance. Enough with pretending that politics is a sport instead of a system meant to improve lives.

The energy from last night feels different because it was broad, not narrow. The party didn’t just win in deep-blue enclaves; it won across ideological lines. This Jacobin piece on Mamdani’s victory made a point that stuck with me: his win wasn’t in spite of his progressive message, but because he connected that message to material issues people care about. Affordable housing. Tenant rights. Public transit. In other words, things that make people’s lives better. That’s it. That’s the roadmap. Democrats don’t need to reinvent themselves; they just need to remember who they’re supposed to serve.

The Numlock News newsletter summed it up well: this was a night where pragmatism beat panic. Candidates who focused on governing and protecting freedoms, not on scoring ideological points, were rewarded. If that lesson sticks, maybe this is the beginning of a real shift. Of course, there’s still a mountain ahead. Winning elections doesn’t guarantee progress, and the forces that brought us to this moment (media polarization, political apathy, structural inequality, social media and more) aren’t going away overnight. For all we know, the damage is too deep to fully repair.

But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a political story that made me feel something other than dread. Let’s be honest – things are still on life support. But last night, watching the results roll in, seeing communities stand up and say they’ve had enough of MAGA extremism, it was a small reminder that this country isn’t beyond saving. We just have to keep showing up, keep doing the work, and keep choosing leaders who understand that politics isn’t about ego or purity. It’s about people.

For now, I’ll take the win. It’s nice to see good news for a change.