I've heard and read that some Democrats are unhappy about yesterday's election. Are you kidding? It wasn't just a good day; it was a GREAT day.

In Illinois, Democrats won BIG:

• JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton won by 15%. That's a huge margin against a sitting governor. JB took courageous stands, like supporting a progressive income tax and legalizing marijuana, and the voters rewarded him for his honesty.
• Kwame Raoul, who some talking heads thought might lose, defeated Erika Harold by more than 11%. The people of Illinois again showed that they aren't as prejudiced as Donald Trump would like you to believe.
• Jesse White, Mike Frerichs, and Susan Mendoza all won comfortably.
• Toni Preckwinkle, Fritz Kaegi, and our other countywide candidates won without opposition.
• Democrats picked up seats in the Senate and the House. Unlike his predecessor, JB will be able to get things done.
  
  

In the northwest suburbs, we won almost every seat we contested. Sean Casten, Lauren Underwood, Ann Gillespie, Mark Walker, Scott Britton, Kevin Morrison, Ketki Steffen and Judge Sam Betar all won seats we had no hope of winning four years ago. Maggie Trevor is locked in a very tight race, which won't be decided until all the mailed ballots are counted. That's a race we couldn't even find a candidate for two years ago!

The Illinois Republican Party is virtually destroyed. Their campaign strategy, which consisted of saying the words "taxes" and "Madigan" like magic spells, failed utterly and completely. They are bankrupt of good ideas or good candidates, and they're lashed to a President that even Republican voters can't stand. 

Nationally, Democrats picked up more than enough seats to flip the House. That was made much harder by the gerrymandering of House districts in many states. We took back the Governor's mansions in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and four other states. Even Democrats who didn't win, like Andrew Gillum in Florida and Beto O'Rourke in Texas, came far closer than people had predicted. Just think how those states will go in two years. Democrats generally do much better in Presidential election years, and this time Trump will be on the ballot in every state.

No, things didn't go perfectly. We didn't take the Senate, but no one realistically thought we would. We lost a few Senate seats and governorships, but you can't expect to win every race. If you'll only be happy with perfection, then (to quote the musical Hamilton) "you will never be satisfied."

Enjoy our victory. Then, get back to work. We have a lot more work to do between now and November 3, 2020.