The progressives' victory is not all it appears to be. They succeeded in making social issues central to the campaign, but their candidates won by narrower margins than moderates did in areas previously held by Republicans.
The mood was joyful, the beer flowed freely and people discussed politics, something increasingly rare in the United States. In the background, large screens tuned to CNN left little doubt about the outcome of this midterm election night, Tuesday, November 3. Donald Trump suffered a historic setback and the map of America turned Democratic blue. The crowd approved, even though, in this brewery in Astoria – a working-class neighborhood in Queens, New York – there was a preference for pink, the color of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the political organization of the city's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, aligned with the left wing of the Democrats.
Each victory by a local candidate was announced over the microphone and greeted with a standing ovation. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leading figure in the movement and re-elected as a New York congressional representative, received particularly enthusiastic applause. Claire Valdez, who will join her in the House in January 2027, made an appearance. "This blue tsunami is really credit to the progressive and democratic socialist movements of the last few years," she said. "In 2024, we saw a real vacuum of leadership, we saw the rise of [Donald] Trump, and we stepped into that void. We talked about an economic agenda that centered working-class people, that was morally consistent on ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], on Gaza and the genocide."
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