19 hours Ago By STEVE PEOPLES Associated Press
NEW YORK — For a day, at least, Democrats across the country had a sense that their comeback against President Donald Trump may have begun. It wasn't just about the election results in Wisconsin, where Democratic-backed Judge Susan Crawford won a 10-point victory against Trump and Elon Musk 's favored candidate for the state Supreme Court. Some Democrats highlighted New Jersey Sen.
Cory Booker's marathon, record-setting 25-hour Senate speech as a rallying point for frustrated voters. Others pointed to congressional Democrats lining up with a handful of House Republican lawmakers to oppose a procedural rule that would have stopped a proposal for new parents in Congress to able to vote by proxy . These victories gave Democratic leaders moments of relief and vindication of their strategy to focus on Trump's alliances with Musk and other billionaires.
That's even as some party officials warned that it was far too early to draw sweeping conclusions from lower-turnout off-year elections with polls still showing that the party's brand is deeply unpopular among key groups of voters. "Elon Musk and Donald Trump are on the ropes," charged Ken Martin, the newly elected chair of the Democratic National Committee. "We're just getting started.
" Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford waves Tuesday during her election night party in Madison, Wis., after winning her race. Democrats had little to cheer about in the five months since Trump won November's presidential election , in which he peeled away a significant portion of working-class voters and people of color.
In recent weeks, the party's activist base became increasingly frustrated that Democratic leaders have not done more to stop Trump's unprecedented push to slash the federal government and reshape the economy. Democrats in Washington and in state capitals across the country privately conceded that a bad night, especially in Wisconsin, would have been devastating. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.
Y., criticizes the agenda of President Donald Trump and the tactics of billionaire Elon Musk in a pivotal Wisconsin election where Democrats won, during a news conference Wednesday at the Capitol in Washington. Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, lost to liberal-backed Crawford in a relative blowout five months after Trump carried Wisconsin by less than 1 point.
In Florida, Republicans won special elections in two of the most pro-Trump House districts in the country, but both candidates significantly underperformed Trump's November margins. "I went to bed last night feeling uplifted and relieved," Kansas Democratic Party Chair Jeanna Repass said Wednesday. Rep.
Mark Pocan, D-Wis., predicted further political consequences for Republicans if they don't resist the sweeping cuts to government services enacted by Musk and Trump. Rebecca Cooke, a Democratic candidate in Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district, said the election was a clear indication that voters are upset with how Trump and Musk "are messing with their lives" but she stopped short of projecting confidence in future elections.
"We have work to do to build long term infrastructure in this party and to really build trust back with voters that I think have felt left behind by the Democratic Party," said Cooke, a 37-year-old waitress who is running against GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden. "I think it takes time to build trust with voters, and it can't happen overnight, and it can't happen in just one election.
" Elon Musk laughs Sunday during a town hall event in Green Bay, Wis. In this week's successes, Democratic officials believe they confirmed the effectiveness of their core message heading into the 2026 midterms that Trump and his billionaire allies are working for the rich at the expense of the working class. Indeed, talking points the Democratic National Committee distributed Wednesday reinforced that notion while pointing to recent lower-profile Democratic victories in Virginia, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Minnesota.
"In 2025, Democrats continue to overperform in special elections as voters send a resounding message: They want Democrats to fight for them, and they want the Trump-Musk agenda out of their communities," the talking points read. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.
, told the AP Wednesday that the election results showed the public is "outraged" by chaos and dysfunction coming from the Trump administration. The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Trump and Republicans in Congress seek Medicaid cuts and support tariffs that could worsen inflation for families. "What we saw yesterday in Florida and Wisconsin was Republicans running scared because the American people are angry and scared about the direction the Trump-Musk agenda is taking us," she said.
"They're seeing prices go up. They're seeing more and more the focus is not on them, but on Trump and his wealthy donors." Protesters rally Saturday against Tesla CEO Elon Musk outside a Tesla store in San Francisco.
On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of voters are expected to attend more than 1,000 so-called "Hands Off!" related protests nationwide focused on Trump and Musk. More than 150 political groups worked together to organize what will almost certainly represent the single biggest day of protest of the second Trump administration. Meanwhile, Booker plans to attend unrelated public events, including a town hall in New Jersey this weekend.
His office reported receiving 28,000 voicemails since he finished his speech shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday.
At its peak, the 25-hour address was streamed by more than 300,000 people across Booker's social media channels. It earned more than 350 million likes on his new TikTok account. ATF investigators and a member of the Seattle Fire Department inspect burned Tesla Cybertrucks at a Tesla lot in Seattle, Monday, March 10, 2025.
(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) A police officer wraps up police tape from a Tesla dealership that was vandalised with pink paint in Montreal, Canada, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP) Chalk graffiti is displayed on the outside of a Tesla dealership during a rally in San Francisco, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson) A demonstrator stands inside a Tesla showroom, next to a smashed door, during a protest against Elon Musk and Tesla, Saturday, March 01, 2025 in New York.
(AP Photo/Adam Gray) Protesters rally outside a Tesla dealership in San Francisco, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson) Marsha Partin, right, stands with other demonstrators during a protest of automaker billionaire CEO, Elon Musk near a Tesla vehicle dealership, Saturday, March 8, 2025, in Decatur, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Protesters rally outside a Tesla dealership in San Francisco, Saturday, March 15, 2025.
(AP Photo/Josh Edelson) A banner is left outside a Tesla showroom during a demonstration, in Lisbon, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) A protester holds a sign reading "SELL THAT TESLA" in front of a Tesla driver during a rally outside a Tesla dealership in San Francisco, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson) Police are investigating after several vehicles were set on fire at a Tesla service center, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Las Vegas.
(Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP) A burned Tesla vehicle is shown at a Tesla collision center Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP) Protesters carrying signs and chanting slogans stand outside a Tesla showroom and service center in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) A member of the Seattle Fire Department inspects a burned Tesla Cybertruck at a Tesla lot in Seattle, Monday, March 10, 2025.
(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) FILE - ATF investigators take apart and document a burned Tesla Cybertruck at a Tesla lot in Seattle, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File) A burnt-out Tesla car stands in the Steglitz district of Berlin, Friday, March 14, 2025, as four Teslas are suspected to have been set on fire in Berlin last night. (Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP) A burnt-out Tesla car stands in the Steglitz district of Berlin, Friday, March 14, 2025, as four Teslas are suspected to have been set on fire in Berlin last night.
(Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP) Demonstrators shout at a driver of a Tesla as they protest against the Trump administration near the White House Friday, March 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) FILE - People protesting Elon Musk's actions in the Trump administration hold signs outside a Tesla showroom in Seattle on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025.
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