5 Election Wins You Should Know About
The power of the blue wave
There were so many wins at the ballot box this week, it’s hard to keep track of them all! You’ve probably heard about the highest-profile races like Zohran Mamdani in New York City, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, and Proposition 50 in California.
But the blue wave extended far beyond national headlines. In communities across the country, Troublemakers celebrated local wins — here are a few you should know about!
In Hudson, Ohio, Amanda Weinstein won her race for city council. If you’ve been following Red Wine & Blue for a while, you might remember her as one of the hosts of our previous podcast The Suburban Women Problem. She’s also an economist, Air Force veteran, and mom. We’re so excited for her win!
Meanwhile, in Geauga County, Ohio, a trans woman named Amy Heutmaker won her race for township trustee. This is a county that voted for Trump last year by 61%! And this week, they voted for Amy.
In Virginia, not only did Democrats win elections for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, they also flipped 13 seats in the House of Delegates. Going into the election, Dems held a tight 51-49 majority. Now, they’re poised to hold a 64-36 majority. That means that Governor-Elect Abigail Spanberger will have all the support she needs in her mission to help Virginians weather the storm coming out of Washington D.C.
In Detroit, Michigan, Mary Sheffield was elected as the city’s first woman mayor. Sheffield, currently the City Council President, defeated megachurch pastor Solomon Kinloch Jr. with 76% of the vote. In her victory speech, she said, “I didn’t get in this race for the privilege and the power. I got in to meet the needs of the people. I got in because I wanted to make sure that at this crossroads, we built a city that was inclusive of us all.”
In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, voters chose to replace ICE-loving Sheriff Fred Harran with Democrat Danny Ceisler. Sheriff Harran has been obsessed with ICE for years and this year, he signed his community up to be a “task force model,” giving deputies the power to act as de facto ICE agents and “challenge people on the street about their immigration status.” This week, Bucks County voters voted for his opponent by a wide margin.
We’ll continue to profile this week’s inspiring wins over the coming weeks. We needed good news this week, and wow, did we ever get it!