Commentary by Elijah Nishura

The midterm elections have come and gone and they were truly historic for the country. There has been discussion after discussion on whether the election was a “Blue Wave,” but no matter how you slice it it was a historic wave of minority and women candidates. The biggest thing that stood out to many were that women and minority candidates were not only running in traditional safe democratic districts, but were entering competitive territory. These candidates were not only running in these competitive districts, but were winning these elections. Candidates like Sharice Davids, Antonio Delgado, Xochitl Torres-Small, Andy Kim, Colin Allred, and Lauren Underwood broke barriers in districts that are majority-white running on bread and butter issues that appealed to a wide range of constituents. These candidates beat out crowded primaries and will become the first minority representatives from these districts. The Democratic party also showed more representation within their safe democrat districts. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first muslim-American women elected to congress, Deb Haaland became one of the first Native women elected to congress and Jared Polis was elected the first openly gay governor in the United States as well as showing an increase in representation in state legislatures.

Not only were minorities elected to congress, but in the upcoming congress several committees will have people of color be powerful chairs. Maxine Waters will chair the financial services committee which could be especially consequential with the issues with the Trump tax plan and Elijah Cummings will chair the House Oversight committee which in the Trump era is also extremely important. Nydia Velazquez, Bennie Thompson, Bobby Scott, Raul Grijalva and Eddie Bernice Johnson will also be chairing powerful committees that will serve as a check on legislation and the Trump Administration.

Looking into 2019, it looks pretty likely that Nancy Pelosi will return to the speakership which is an important dynamic when dealing with the Trump Administration. These past eight

years have had four men in negotiations between congress and the executive branch and it is clear Leader Pelosi brings a perspective desperately needed especially after this administration. She famously asked last year in a negotiation with the Trump Administration “Do the women get to speak around here?” She brings an important dynamic that is essential to fighting the harmful policies of Donald Trump. Many have spoken out against her but she has shown her effectiveness passing the Affordable care Act with President Obama and whipping enough votes to pass legislative efforts throughout her tenure.

There was also historic voter suppression this midterm election. Stacey Abrams ran to be the first black female governor in the state of Georgia, but her opponent Brian Kemp avoided a run-off by a slim couple of percentage points. Brian Kemp had an extreme conflict of Interest serving as Secretary of State (the person in charge of elections) as well as being the candidate. This caused him to be able to take voters off the voter roll in the election he was running in. 78% of those taken off voter rolls because of un-matching signatures were people of color. This is not a coincidence in such a close race. These policies that disenfranchise minority voters are alive and well not only in Georgia but across the country. Another example was in North Dakota where in 2012 Democrat Heidi Heitkamp won by half a percentage point thanks in part to a large Native American turnout. After that election, a Republican state legislature took action and made a policy that made it so that a residential address was required instead of a P.O. box address. Most native Americans living on reservations do not have residential addresses and this was a clear suppression of Native American votes. We see time and time again states making laws to disenfranchise minority voters and it is clearly an important issue that must be taken on.

The election brought amazing victories for candidates fighting for a fairer and more just country. While there were some disappointments, the fight continues. The pressure is on and Embrace will be fighting every step of the way.