Originally Posted: November 7, 2018
Did Democrats enjoy a blue wave?
The answer depends on how you characterize victory.
The party mounted a respectable effort at the top of the ticket — which is an accomplishment of sorts.
Democrats picked up some urban and suburban seats in Congress and the Legislature. Still, they failed to break through statewide.
“I would call it a good night, not a great night” for Democrats, said Matthew Wilson, associate professor of political science at Southern Methodist University.
“A great night would’ve been Beto O’Rourke winning” in the U.S. Senate race, he said. “That was the fondest dream of Democrats in Texas. But O’Rourke’s candidacy and the mobilization that he generated is going to carry a couple of new Democratic U.S. Congress members to victory as well as help Democratic candidates, particularly in suburban state legislative districts.” READ MORE