Democrats overperform dramatically in Georgia, Wisconsin elections

Democrats on Wednesday celebrated huge overperformances in Georgia and Wisconsin elections that could herald a growing blue wave in the fall midterms with President Donald Trump’s Republican allies clinging to control of Congress.

Democrat Shawn Harris lost by just a 12% margin in the deep-red Georgia district once held by ex-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and that Trump carried by 37% in 2024.

In swing-state Wisconsin, meanwhile, liberal Chris Taylor scored a blowout landslide 20% win over Maria Lazar to flip a previously conservative-held spot on the state Supreme Court.

“Make no mistake: Enthusiasm for Democrats is growing everywhere,” Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin tweeted. “Republicans are absolutely terrified.”

Harris, a retired Army general and self-described “dirt road farmer,” fell short to Trump-endorsed Republican Rep.-elect Clay Fuller, losing by a tentative final margin of 56%-44%.

But Harris dramatically narrowed the gap from his previous loss to Greene in 2024, with several heavily Republican counties swinging by a shocking 25% away from the GOP.

“Nobody ever thought that we would ever be this close,” Harris told a cheering crowd of supporters.

In Wisconsin, where presidential elections are normally determined by statewide swings of 2% or less, Taylor romped to a massive win by racking up huge margins in deep blue cities like Milwaukee and Madison while severely eating into usual Republican margins in suburbs and rural areas.

Liberals will now hold a 5-2 edge on the influential court, which could play a role in rolling back a Republican gerrymander that has allowed the GOP to hold a 6-2 edge in the state’s congressional delegation.

But the bigger problem for Trump and Republicans is that the same story has repeated itself many times since he returned to the White House and experts say the pattern is likely to extend to the November midterms.

Seven congressional special elections have been held in the 15 months, four of them in heavily Republican districts and three in Democratic ones. Democrats have improved their vote share in every one of the contests, with the average gain of about 15%.

New Jersey voters will head to the polls next week in another special election to choose a replacement for Gov. Mikie Sherrill.

As Trump’s approval ratings hit new lows, the outsized swings to Democrats amount to a blaring alarm for Trump’s Republicans as the midterms draw nearer.

The party of the sitting president nearly always faces political headwinds in midterm elections, when the president is not on the ballot and the opposing party is generally more motivated to go to the polls.

Republicans hold a razor-thin four-seat majority in the House of Representatives, meaning Democrats only need to flip a handful of seats to retake control and install Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, as Speaker of the House.

The GOP position looks a bit stronger in the Senate where Democrats would need to flip four seats to win back the upper chamber. That was once considered a crazy long shot, especially since they would need to flip at least two GOP strongholds like Ohio, Alaska, Iowa or Texas.

As the political environment continues to trend blue, it’s now more of a coin flip.