Leading Dem on midterms aftermath: "We're still in the fight of our lives"

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There were echoes of past successful this year's midterm election, 1 of the biggest rebukes of Republicans since 1974, erstwhile Watergate, ostentation and unemployment dominated the campaign. That year, Democrats won 291 seats successful the House of Representatives (flipping 49 GOP-held seats), and picked up 4 Senate seats.

Following past Tuesday's elections, Democrats present person robust majorities successful some houses of Congress. Florida's Republican Governor Rick DeSantis called it "close to an extinction-level lawsuit for Republicans."

There were besides stunning upsets successful reddish states, including Kansas, South Carolina and Texas. It was, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said, "a Watergate-level repudiation."

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, says his enactment is astatine a crossroads. He says the dynamic of galore Republicans successful the Trump Era being fearful of getting excessively acold distant from the president has changed. "Oh, I deliberation it changed connected Tuesday," helium said, calling this year's midterms "the astir disastrous predetermination for Republicans ever."

He added that, of Republicans inactive successful bureau who don't privation to combat Mr. Trump directly, "Like the Cowardly Lion, they'll find that they really had courageousness each along."

Hogan was asked what it would instrumentality for voters to spot the GOP again: "They didn't similar the presumption quo, and they threw retired each the Republicans," helium replied. "The Democrats are present successful charge. They don't person the White House, but they bash person some houses of Congress. And so, present they person to really present connected their promises. It's going to beryllium truly absorbing to spot what some parties do. My enactment has to bash a small spot of soul-searching astir wherever bash we spell from here."

More than a small bit? "A lot!" Hogan laughed.

"I liken it to the Battle of Gettysburg"

President Trump told "Sunday Morning" connected Election Day that helium volition push backmost hard against Democrats, and connected Friday helium named the confrontational Stephen Miller arsenic White House main of staff.

Democrats, led by New York's Hakeem Jeffries (soon to beryllium the first-ever Black Speaker of the House), are ramping up investigations.

What Trump's last 2 years successful bureau volition look similar with Democrats successful charge

Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, acceptable to seat the almighty House Judiciary Committee, says Democrats are going to clasp President Trump accountable done the regularisation of law.

He besides does not deliberation Congress should absorption connected the system astatine the disbursal of investigations: "It's not an either/or proposition," Raskin said. "Take, for example, the French Revolution. Remember erstwhile Marie Antoinette said, 'Let them devour cake'? Now, is that a occupation of accountability and tyranny, a corrupt government? Or is it a occupation of affordability and modular of living? It's both! Authoritarianism and tyranny are highly costly for the people.

"And it's the nonstop aforesaid happening erstwhile you spell down the enactment with Donald Trump," Raskin said. "So, are we going to spell aft the corruption? Yeah, you're damn right. And are we going to spell aft affordability and making people's lives easier? Yeah, you're damn right. We're going to bash some of them."

Raskin besides believes that, post-elections, bipartisanship is possible. "Sure," helium said. "I saw JD Vance marque a code the different day. He's rapidly backpedaling and trying to dissociate himself from the Iran War. Let's enactment successful a bipartisan mode to effort to extricate ourselves from the messiness they got america into. Same happening with the tariffs, right? They're each backpedaling from the tariffs."

But Raskin says, pursuing his party's large wins past Tuesday, Democrats person nary illusions astir the roadworthy ahead: "It was a immense victory, but I liken it to the Battle of Gettysburg, which was a turning constituent successful the Civil War, but it wasn't the extremity of it," helium said. "There were a batch much battles to come. And Donald Trump inactive has 2 years successful office, astatine slightest connected paper. This conflict is not implicit by a agelong shot. We're inactive successful the combat of our lives."

Story produced by Mary Raffalli. Editor: Ed Givnish.

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