Election reactions

SAN DIEGO (SDJW) — Written reactions from across the United States to the results of Tuesday’s election poured into the offices of San Diego Jewish World.  Here is a sampling:

Democratic Majority for Israel — This election was a referendum on Trump: higher prices, corruption, and an erratic war with Iran that Americans have been paying for at the pump.

Anyone who says it was about the U.S.-Israel relationship is reading their own priorities into the results. Most of the seats Democrats flipped were won by mainstream Democrats who back Israel’s security and its right to exist. With the Blue Dog and New Democrat Coalitions set to gain dozens of new members, a wave this size will blunt DSA’s influence in the caucus.

Voters were voting on Trump
–Republicans broke their promises, and voters fired them for it.
–Two-thirds said Trump’s policies made the economy worse.
–58% said they were very concerned about grocery prices.
–Democrats came out of election night more trusted on the economy by six points.
–Trump’s approval in the exit polls was 38%, on track to be the lowest for any president in a midterm.
–Roughly nine in 10 voters said corruption was a major factor. Six in 10 said Trump puts his own interests ahead of the country’s.
–63% said Trump’s decision to go into Iran was a mistake. He went in without a clear plan and ran it erratically. Voters noticed, and so did their gas bills.
–Mainstream Democrats built this majority
–Democrats are on track for their biggest House majority this century and up to 56 Senate seats, their most since 2008.
–Democrats flipped more than 40 House seats and at least seven Senate seats, most of them in states and districts Trump carried. Progressives and Democratic Socialists won seats in mostly safe-Democratic districts.
–The biggest swings came from candidates who ran on health care and affordability and campaigned as open supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Specifically, DMFI PAC-backed Democrats winning in Trump country:

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Democratic Majority for America (Ammar Campa-Najjar)– AIPAC spent millions trying to stop us, but yesterday, voters showed them that not every seat in Congress is for sale.

Randy Villegas is going to Congress. Outside groups poured $2.2 million into California’s Central Valley to defeat him, including $500,000 from a PAC aligned with AIPAC. They wanted to make an example out of a candidate who refused to put wealthy donors and special interests ahead of working people.

Instead, the voters made an example out of them.

And in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed is headed to the United States Senate. I have to tell you, this victory is deeply personal. As an Arab American, I know what it feels like to be told that people like us don’t belong in American politics. That our names, our faith, or where our families come from make us less American, less electable, or less deserving of a seat at the table.

Abdul’s victory is an answer to every person who has ever tried to make us feel that way.

And for those of us who have watched the genocide in Gaza with broken hearts, who have demanded that our government recognize Palestinian lives as equally precious, this victory carries an even deeper meaning.

It tells us that we can speak out against injustice, refuse to be intimidated into silence, and still win. That we don’t have to abandon our principles to earn the trust of the American people.

That’s why we founded Democratic Majority for America, and that’s why we proudly endorsed Randy and Abdul.

Both refused to accept the idea that AIPAC and its billionaire allies should get to decide who represents us. Both stood their ground when powerful interests came after them, and yesterday, both proved that the American people are ready for a different kind of leadership.

You helped make these victories possible. Whether you donated, shared their campaigns, or helped spread our message, you were part of a movement that took on millions in special-interest spending and won.

I hope you feel as proud of that as I do.

Thank you for believing that our democracy can be better than this. Thank you for refusing to give up on it.

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Jewish Democratic Council of America — We are thrilled with the outcome of these elections.

Overwhelming Democratic victories in Senate, House, and gubernatorial elections were made possible by exceptional voter turnout and strong support for Democrats, and we’re thrilled that Jewish voters once again demonstrated they’re an essential part of a winning Democratic coalition.

In the lead-up to these midterm elections, pundits debated whether this would finally be the year that Jewish voters left the Democratic Party. Yet in this election, just like in every cycle in recent memory, Jewish voters once again overwhelmingly voted for Democrats.

A new nationwide survey of Jewish voters, conducted on behalf of J Street and released today (Thursday, Nov. 5) found that 72% of Jewish voters supported Democrats in the 2026 =
midterms , which is the same percentage as the 2024 election. Even in contentious races and battleground states where critics predicted shifts among Jewish voters, our community rejected Trump-aligned candidates and delivered decisive margins for Democratic candidates.

Jewish voters made clear that their home remains firmly in the Democratic Party because our values are Democratic values. And with massive margins in both chambers, we’re confident that Democratic leadership will continue to fight for our values and priorities in the next Congress. {Sam Crystal, COO and Chief of Staff, Jewish Democratic Council of America.}

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J Street —  J Street celebrated the 2026 midterm results as a resounding victory for the politics that the organization has championed since its founding. J Street-endorsed candidates won races across the country and will make up a majority of Democrats in both the House and the Senate in the next Congress. An estimated 98% of JStreet-backed candidates are projected to win their races.