Littwin: With the election sort-of over — still waiting on Boebert — I have thoughts. Many of them.

I must apologize for this, but I’m going to do one of those lame 5-takeaways columns for today (which, I promise, will have way more than 5 issues discussed, so buckle up).

Days after the Blue Tsunami/Orange Crush election, which was a stunning rejection of Donald Trump and much of what he stands for — like corruption and tariffs and non-victory arches and jackbooted thugs and an absurdly dumb and costly war — there is too much that must be addressed about the election. And right away, before we wake up and find it was all a dream.

So, let’s dig in. And before we even get to No. 1, you must have heard that not only is Susie Wiles, a moderate by Trump standards, out as White House Chief of Staff, but the deputy chief, Stephen Miller, is her replacement. So only Trump could believe that Miller is the person who can save the party — no, he doesn’t really care about the party — and, most important to him, Trump’s legacy. Miller is the main architect of Trump’s vicious immigration policies, the figure behind the assaults on higher education and a take-no-prisoners commando in the never-ending culture wars. That’s just for starters.

If those in Trump’s cabinet weren’t scared about the safety of their jobs before, they must be by now. If you somehow weren’t scared about what Trump might yet do to the country in the next two years, you must be now. There is no one who could keep Trump at his Trumpiest than his top henchman.

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And now on to the rest of the column:

No. 1 

I woke up Friday, as I write this, to see that Amendment 87 has passed. The opposition, which was composed of nearly every business group in Colorado, conceded the race even though the Associated Press hadn’t called it. That was commendable of them.

My first reaction, though, is: How the hell could 49% of Colorado voters have turned down 87? Was it the uncommendable, scare-tactic, anti-87 ad campaign that did it? The graduated income tax program is a tax cut for nearly every household and business making less than $500,000 annually. Like mine. And yours. And 87 will raise more than $2 billion annually from the rich, which covers the annual budget shortfall and still has money left over for, you know, the kids. Is this the end of TABOR or just the beginning of the end?

And if you think the rich people are going to suddenly move out of the state, ask yourself where they’re going. Of the 10 biggest states in the country, the only red haven left is Florida, and that was a very close call. Let’s see what happens there in 2028, when Democrats will actually make a major play for the state. How about Texas? Dems won every statewide office in Texas. No wonder Elon Musk — who spent $250 million backing the repugnant Ken Paxton and more than $450 million overall  — is in such a rush to get to Mars.

No. 2 

I also have to mention Phil Weiser, who will be our new governor and who came out against 87, just days before the election. As one of my readers said: Read the room, governor. This was a major gaffe — he didn’t have to say anything —and a shock to many progressives who voted for him. Weiser said he was afraid that voters would pass Prop 137, which would have left taxes the way they were and possibly have blocked 87, but 137 failed. 

It took an incredible — yes, literally incredible — Democratic election for 87 to barely pass. When did Weiser think the next such election would come along? (Other bigtime Dem opponents of 87: Jared Polis, naturally. Ken Salazar, naturally. John Hickenlooper, naturally.) 

We’re now left to wonder how Weiser and an even more progressive legislature will get along. My guess: He’ll get along with them much better than Polis did. And if he could, he’d unpardon Tina Peters.

No. 3 

Speaking of Weiser, congratulations on the blowout victory, one of the biggest in state history. Of course, he was running against Victor Marx, certainly one of the weirdest and most inept people to ever run for governor. Marx got 33% of the vote, which isn’t much, but is still 33% of the vote, meaning a majority of the Republican vote went to Marx. That’s in an election that was a near-extinction event for the party. What will state Republicans do now? I don’t think a group exorcism would help, but maybe a whole new generation.

No. 4 

Did I say near-extinction? Democrats have captured supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature for the first time. As in forever. In congressional races, Jeff Hurd scraped his way to victory in the 3rd Congressional District. Hurd, notably, is not exactly a MAGA Republican. And now he will likely be the only Republican in the Colorado delegation, which sat at 4-4 before the election. 

Dem challenger Jessica Killin knocked off Jeff Crank, marking the first time Democrats have ever won in the 5th CD. As in forever. Manny Rutinel, as expected, beat incumbent Gabe Evans in the 8th. As I write this, the Lauren Boebert race in the 4th CD hasn’t been called yet, but most election analysts believe Dem challenger Eileen Laubacher will pull it out.

That would give Dems a 7-1 delegation lead. By the way, Boebert’s camp is already talking about “unusual voting patterns.” Which I assume to mean that so many people voted against her. Raise your hand if you’re surprised. Raise your hand if you think she goes to court. 

And her campaign is also preparing for a recount, although the race won’t be close enough for an automatic recount. She’ll have to pay if she wants one. Or the broke state Republican Party will have to pay. I know, maybe they could get Elon Musk to waste even more of his money. The way the market is going, though, I don’t know if he’d be able to afford it.

No. 5 

If Boebert loses — so many fingers are still crossed — what will she do next? I’ve seen some nasty suggestions on the web, like Boebert would retire so she could spend more quality time with her son’s parole officer. But I’d guess there would be a spot for her on Fox News. All she’d have to do is dye her hair blonde.

No. 6 

Will Trump try to get Sam Alito or Clarence Thomas to resign from the Supreme Court so a right-wing successor could be approved by the lame duck Congress? I doubt it seriously, not unless Republicans want to put themselves in a position that basically forces Dems to expand the Court. And, as it is, they probably don’t need much of a push, if any. And I doubt if (not-for-long) Majority Leader John Thune has the nerve to even try to pull off a Mitch McConnell.

No. 7 

What will Democrats do with their huge majorities with Trump still president? They need to do big things that will allow young people, Latinos, Black men, etc., to know that the election meant something. I’d attack Trump’s assault on Medicaid and Medicare. Don’t expect a Medicare for All majority until at least 2029. I’d force Republicans to vote on food stamps. To vote on a data-center moratorium. (Don’t panic. There will be data centers. But they’ll be in communities that want them and with Big Tech paying much of the way.) 

Do Republican senators up for reelection in 2028 want to be on the wrong side of these issues? Will GOP senators be more afraid of Trump and his power to primary his opponents or of the voters who will maybe let them keep their phony-baloney jobs? 

No. 8 

The presidential campaigns have already begun, and the races in both parties are wide open. The usual suspects at the top of the lists before Tuesday may well give way to a very different brand of suspects. Let’s take the Republicans first. It looks like JD Vance is a dead candidate walking. His support for the Ramaswamy ad just reinforces how unlikable he is. And now he’s blaming — as are many potential nominees — Trump’s war for the wipeout. If he doesn’t have Trump’s support, he has no chance. 

Marco Rubio probably couldn’t win a GOP nomination, unless Trump endorses him and maybe not even then. Is Rubio going to say the war was a mistake? Who’s left? Don Jr.? Ted Cruz? Nikki Haley? John Fetterman? Ron DeSantis, who did call the election results a near-extinction event, is definitely running, presumably away from Trump. Assuming Trump, with Miller’s prodding, remains Trump for the next two years — the ballroom, the arch, the threat of more bomb, bomb, bomb Iran — I’d put Republicans as big underdogs. Of course, we’ve got two years, and many of the issues before us will be but a bitter memory.

No. 9 

Onto the Democrats. Progressives, including DSA members, did very well Tuesday night. So did moderates. Hell, so did everyone remotely blue. Dem senators in Kansas? In South Carolina? Very likely in Mississippi? It looks like Dems win 55 or 56 seats in the Senate, maybe 260-something in the House. I don’t discount the chances of Dems bickering their way toward defeat someday. But I don’t see that much bickering in the short term. 

In fact, I’d guess that Chuck Schumer will keep his job as Senate majority leader because Dems don’t want an all-out fight. For the record, I’d say it’s past time to move past Schumer, but that’s just me and, yes, millions of others. As for presidential nominees, I’d say that Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan has to raise the odds of AOC’s chances, if she runs. But there could be dozens of Democrats running. 

If I had to pick a likely nominee, I’d say Georgia’s Jon Ossoff, a moderate-looking semi-progressive who was so impressive on the stump. If James Talarico weren’t 37 years old and a brand-new senator, he’d be an interesting choice. Pete Buttigieg may be in a better position than he was in 2020. Newsom? Harris? Pritzker? Moore? I doubt it. Beshear? Klobuchar? I wouldn’t make a bet now for the nominee in either party.

No. 10 

I gotta end this column sometime. Let’s look at the polls. The polls and analysts got this election sort of right. Everyone predicted a Blue Wave. Some predicted a tsunami. But hardly anyone predicted a cataclysm like this one because who has that kind of imagination? I don’t. Which may be why, in part, I still can’t quite believe what just happened.

Mike Littwin has been a columnist for too many years to count. He has covered Dr. J, four presidential inaugurations, six national conventions and countless brain-numbing speeches in the New Hampshire and Iowa snow. Sign up for Mike’s newsletter.

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