The Democratic victory in the United States midterm elections, the Midterms, was marked by young leaders, from ethnic or religious minorities and with progressive discourse.
This portrait renews the image that was worn out after the defeat to Donald Trump in 2024, when the party was strongly associated with economic elites and was criticized for an alleged abandonment of the agendas of American workers.
In an interview with Agência Brasil, doctor in political science Juliano Machado Pires attributed the poor evaluation that the Democratic Party had, in 2024, to disappointment with the Barack Obama government (2009-2017).
"The population had a lot of expectations from the Obama government. With the banking crisis in 2008, Obama saved the banks, but did not save the population's mortgage. A portion of people felt betrayed and were left with the feeling that the two parties were the same when it came to protecting people's economic rights", he explained.
International relations professor Camila Vidal, from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), highlighted that the 2026 election elected a significant number of democrats who are from outside the party's “elite”.
“These are individuals who have a much more progressive agenda, in some cases even socialist, emphasizing better living conditions for the working class, universal and free healthcare for all”, he commented to Agência Brasil.
The result saw the Democratic Party elect senators and representatives in states and districts where it had lost successive elections in recent years, such as Texas. As a result, both the Senate and the Chamber became majority occupied by the opposition to Donald Trump, from the Republican Party.
Pioneers
Among the prominent names are the first black woman in US history to be elected governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, for the state of Georgia; the first indigenous governor, Deb Haaland, for New Mexico; and the first openly homosexual senator, Chris Papas, elected from New Hampshire.
In her speech, the governor-elect of Georgia dedicated the victory to people who do not have access to health and education services due to the high cost of living in the USA.
“This victory is for the caregiver who can’t afford healthcare and needs Georgia to finally expand Medicare,” said Keisha Bottoms.
History professor at Brown University in the USA, James N. Green, explained to Agência Brasil that, in the USA, local party leaders have a lot of flexibility to define state policy, which contributed to this renewal.
“The diversity of the Democratic Party gave this flexibility of diverse candidates, which could attract a base of the population, combined with the horrible policies of the Trump administration, which encouraged many people to break with him and support the Democrats”, he assessed.
Talarico
Another prominent name was the winner of the Texas Senate, James Talarico, who defeated the Republicans for the first time in almost 40 years in the state.
This was also the first time that Texas elected a Latina governor, Gina Hinojosa, after decades of Republican party hegemony.
At 37 years old, James Talarico articulates a religious discourse with the defense of those most in need and social justice. He is the son of a Presbyterian pastor and seminarian.
"The president of the United States said I insulted Jesus. Do you know what insults Jesus? Leaving the poor without social assistance while cutting taxes on billionaires. Do you know what insults Jesus? Deporting foreigners and separating mothers from their babies," he said.
The young politician was referring to Trump's anti-immigration policy, accused of separating families, and the approval of the project that took $1 trillion from healthcare while cutting taxes for the richest.
The Texan was a harsh critic of the far-right Republican political platform, which attacks minorities such as transgender people, immigrants and Muslims within the USA.
"The only minority that is destroying America is the billionaires. Many of the divisions in this state and in this country are manufactured by billionaires who want us to fight each other instead of them," Talarico said at a campaign event.
Professor Camila Vidal, from UFSC, highlights that Talarico rescues a tradition that would have been abandoned by the Democratic Party, at least, since the Bill Clinton government (1993-2001).
"Coming from a state like Texas, it's quite emblematic. Talarico brings religion and Christianity back to the sphere of local workers, speaking to this impoverished and gigantic class nowadays in the USA. It's a big surprise", he commented.
First Muslim
Also drawing attention was the election of the first Muslim to the US Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, in the state of Michigan, who campaigned criticizing the country's spending on military aid to Israel.
In his victory speech, El-Sayed criticized the Zionist lobby that had spent millions of dollars to defeat him in Michigan.
“They try to label you as someone full of hate if you believe that Palestinian children should be able to grow up in the land of their ancestors without being murdered with our tax money,” said the senator-elect.
On election day, Trump announced the suspension of US$4 billion in military aid to Israel, which, for some analysts, was seen as an attempt to reverse the trend of votes for candidates who criticize US funding of Israel.
