A 'bitter night for Trump'
Although the 2026 midterm elections are still 19 months away, Democratic and GOP strategists are keeping a close eye on 2025 elections to get a possible preview of what lies ahead. And the outcome of elections held on Tuesday, April 1 gave Republicans both good and bad news.
In deep red districts in Florida, GOP candidates enjoyed double-digit victories in two special elections for U.S. House of Representatives seats. But in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election, Republicans suffered a major disappointment when liberal Judge Susan Crawford defeated conservative Judge Brad Schimel by roughly 10 percent.
That election was technically nonpartisan but became a referendum on the policies of President Donald Trump and his close ally, billionaire Tesla/SpaceX/X.com leader Elon Musk. And even though Musk poured more than $20 million into Schimel's campaign, Crawford won.
READ MORE: 'Musk is the biggest loser': Social media erupts as Dem wins big in WI supreme court race
In a listicle published by The Hill, reporters Julia Manchester and Caroline Vakil offer five takeaways from the April 1 elections.
Their takeaways are: (1) "a bitter night for Trump and Musk in Wisconsin," (2) "Democrats' energy was through the roof," (3) "Florida is still Trump Country," (4) "Republicans underperformed," and (5) "GOP gets some breathing room in the House."
"Despite the fact Republicans turned out in Florida and ultimately nabbed wins," Manchester and Vakil argue, "the party still underperformed in both special House elections, as well as in the Wisconsin race. In Florida's 6th District, Fine defeated his Democratic opponent Josh Weil by 14 points. Trump and Mike Waltz, the national security adviser who previously held the seat, won the district by more than 30 points in November. But it was Democrat Gay Valimont's overperformance in Florida's 1st Congressional District that appeared to raise eyebrows even more."
Manchester and Vakil continue, "Patronis defeated Valimont by 14.8 points five months after Trump won the district by 37 points. Democrats also celebrated flipping Escambia County, which Valimont won it by just more than 3 points Tuesday after Trump won it by nearly 20 points in November. Democrats described the results as a warning to Republicans."
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Read Julia Manchester and Caroline Vakil's full listicle for The Hill at this link.
