Today, I woke up with the sun streaming in through my window and a weight lifted off my shoulders. A newfound sense of hope has been plaguing my thoughts and shaking my very being to its core. I have been riding an unexpected but pleasant high all day.
As I am writing this, it is November 5, 2025. This time last year, I was waking up in the middle of the night with a sinking feeling of dread in my gut. A shift that I could feel in my bones that something was incredibly wrong. Before the results of the 2024 Presidential Election had even been called, I could feel that something had shifted. Even as I crossed my fingers and pulled up the polls, I knew that Kamala had lost.
This morning, I rose out of bed, floating in the air. It felt like the hope I had during those 107 days of Kamala’s campaign had re-emerged. Except this time, the voters came through. This time, my peers didn’t let me down.
Zohran Mamdani just became New York City’s first Muslim democratic socialist and immigrant mayor. Abigail Spanberger was elected Virginia’s first-ever female governor. The democrats flipped Georgia Public Service Commission seats, which previously had a republican majority. Democrat Mikie Sherrill became governor of New Jersey. Ghazala Hashmi won the lieutenant governor of Virginia, becoming the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office in the US. Prop 50 passed, giving California the power to redraw districts if Texas republicans pursue gerrymandering.
Voters in Pennsylvania re-elected three democratic justices to 10-year terms on the state supreme court. Michelle Wu won a second term as Mayor of Boston, the first woman and Asian American to be mayor of Boston. Erika Evans became the first black woman city attorney of Seattle.
Democrats broke the republican supermajority in the Mississippi state senate for the first time in years, following court ordered special redistricting elections intended to provide greater representation for the state’s black voters. Mary Sheffield is the first woman mayor of Detroit. Pennsylvania has its first openly transgender mayor, Erica Deuso of Downingtown, Virginia.
Jonathan Bailey is 2025’s sexiest man alive. Okay, that one’s a silly one. But my point still stands! There have been big wins this past election day for democrats. People all over the internet are “libbing out” and celebrating these wins. I am celebrating these wins!
Since November 5th, 2024, I have been holding on to Kamala Harris’ concession speech.
“You have the capacity to do extraordinary good in the world. And so, to everyone who is watching, do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize, and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.”
Kamala Harris, Presidential Election Concession Speech 2024
Those are the words that she said, and I have kept grasping. And for the first time since the election, I can feel the truth of her words and the shifting power that they have. For the first time in a long time, I feel an immense amount of hope. Dare I say, I feel downright patriotic. These small wins are HUGE wins in the long run. We are finally making headway and fighting back against fascism and hatred.
Over these past 12 months, I have woken up every day wondering, “What’s next?” I’m sure many of you reading can relate. So many things have felt uncertain and downright scary. But for once, I feel certain. I am certain that by electing these officials, we have taken back some of the power from the Trump Administration.
That’s not to say that we still don’t have big fish to fry, especially since we are currently living through the longest government shutdown in history. At the time of writing this, November 5, 2025, we are going on 35 days. Now is not the time to get distracted. However, while the fight is far from over, we should celebrate and revel in these small victories. They may seem small, but they are a huge step in the right direction because the fight starts with local elections. Mayors, Governors, City Councils. Those are all important to vote for because this country was built to be a democracy, a collection of small parts that all work together to make this country great.
That being said, we still have to roll up our sleeves. There is still lots of work to do. Stay informed and continue to call your representatives. Join protests, such as the No Kings protests, if you are able to. During this time, when people are no longer receiving SNAP benefits and Medicaid, it is incredibly important to support your communities. Donate to local shelters and food banks, volunteer, and support your neighbors. There are so many things you can do to make an impact.
While we revel, it is important to remember that the victories that we have witnessed this November should be used as fuel to continue fighting back against a fascist regime. We still have to make it to midterms, and there is no time to lose momentum. Continue to mobilize, join protests, and build community. The only way to make America great is to make America great for everybody. People of color, the LGBTQ+ community, women, and immigrants, we all make America great.
As Mayor Mamdani said in his victory speech, “New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant. So, hear me, President Trump, when I say this: to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”
For fascism to get to any of us, it must go through all of us. We are stronger together.
So, I leave you with this, my dear readers: hope is not lost. There are brighter days ahead as long as we keep up the good fight. The billionaires and corporations who back politicians like Donald Trump and Andrew Cuomo want you to feel helpless. That is how they win. So don’t let them.
And remember, only when it is dark out can you see the stars.