It was, of course, a high-energy Democratic triumph — a wave, a flood, even a tsunami — powered by economic pain and revulsion at the Iran war, which daily exacerbates that pain. Voter polling underscored the importance of the cost of living, government corruption, and the war. To my mind, the result also reflected anger at broken promises of peace, prosperity, and transparency; the brutality of Israel’s U.S.-supported response to Hamas’s massacre; and ICE’s persecution of peaceful immigrants in the U.S.
It seems to me that coloring all these reasons for voting for Democrats, like warm light playing on the electoral waters, is an appreciation of and support for decent men and women who care about people in all corners of the political landscape. These often younger, more idealistic candidates seemed to voters across the political spectrum far more likely to keep their promises of prosperity for all and peace than the enraged and perpetually self-absorbed president and his obedient, often angry political acolytes. Trump insisted that Americans act as if he were “on the ballot,” and voters — independents and Republicans, as well as Democrats — did.
In an era when telling images and quotes cling to candidates with the tenacity of Homeric epithets, Texans warmed to open-faced James Talarico, a young man who spoke unashamedly of “the politics of love” and seemed to embrace it. Talarico had called his rival for the nomination, Jasmine Crockett, a “colleague and friend,” and repeatedly treated questions, including hostile ones, with ease and respect.
His opponent, Ken Paxton, whose abiding tag is “scandal-plagued,” epitomized a corrupt, self-absorbed old order. His former chief deputy, Jeff Mateer, testified that Paxton’s conduct was “immoral” and “unethical.” On TV, Paxton appeared ill at ease, paunchy, unconvincing. When, aping Trump’s demeaning nicknames, Paxton called his opponent “Talafreako,” the former seminarian turned the energy of his aggression into a gently mocking smile of welcome. Talarico’s team embraced the insult by selling “Talafreako” T-shirts.
A New York Times/Siena poll released in June found that 56 percent of respondents said Talarico had good character. A majority questioned Paxton’s character.
Kansas offered a similar, if less dramatic, picture. On one side was a mild-mannered, middle-class pastor, Adam Hamilton, a “Ripple of Kindness” honoree who campaigned on restoring healthcare subsidies and reducing costs for all. On the other was a multimillionaire sitting senator, Roger Marshall, who will likely be remembered as the OB-GYN who sued more than 700 patients over unpaid bills as small as $101, according to a New York Times analysis of court records.
The words of Talarico and Hamilton, a former seminarian and a practicing pastor, are infused with Jesus’s message of love, especially for one’s neighbor. Both also drew support from prominent Republicans.
Two other improbable red-state winners, South Carolina’s senator-elect, Annie Andrews, and Ohio’s governor-elect, Amy Acton, are physicians who seem to embody the spirit of the Hippocratic oath. Their opponents seemed like symptoms of the disease, not bearers of a cure.
They also voted against the broken promises, selfishness, hypocrisy, and cruelty.
Andrews, a pediatrician, traveled the state on her “Gas, Grits, and Groceries” affordability tour and promoted a “Patients and Prices” plan focused on affordable healthcare. Her opponent, Darline Graham, seemed to offer little beyond her closeness to her deceased brother, former Sen. Lindsey Graham, whose seat she had been appointed to fill. President Trump targeted Andrews with an anti-transgender slur and falsely claimed she supported gender-affirming surgery for minors, a position she had publicly opposed.
Acton presented herself as a physician and public servant, a woman whose troubled childhood — she experienced sexual abuse and periods of homelessness — helped her understand “everyday Ohioans.” She focused on the cost of living and her role in putting public health before politics.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s lavishly funded, clumsy verbal and visual blows did more damage to him than to his opponent. His ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother, who accused her daughter of lying about her childhood, illustrated only the Republican’s tone-deaf mean-spiritedness. Acton’s mother had lost custody of her children after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton. Trump’s support for the ad and Vice President JD Vance’s dismissal of concerns about it only compounded the cruelty and insensitivity. Whether the ad was appropriate was “not really my concern,” Vance said.
Insensitive. The word brings to mind the attitude Trump modeled for a party still in his thrall. This year, Trump reported more than $1.4 billion in income from crypto ventures in 2025. Americans were struggling to buy groceries and gas and worrying about the rising human and financial costs of the war. On May 12, 2026, as the campaign was heating up and affordability was emerging as a central issue, Trump was asked how Americans’ finances affected his approach to a deal with Iran. His response: “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody.” He went on to say that his focus was preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
So yes, Americans, angry at inflation and at a war that claimed American lives and treasure, voted for Democrats.
But they also voted against the broken promises, selfishness, hypocrisy, and cruelty of an aging, out-of-touch, mean-spirited, insensitive president and the similarly inclined politicians he picked.
Not all of the elected Democrats so clearly exhibit the New Testament kindness and long-term commitment to caring for others that I see in Talarico and Hamilton, Andrews and Acton. But just about all of them have been paying attention to and honoring voters’ needs and hopes for a kinder, more equitable, collaborative, democratic future.
James S. Gordon, a psychiatrist, is the author of Transforming Trauma: The Path to Hope and Healing and was chair of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
