Which way, Democrats? The last couple of cycles of American electoral politics have followed the same basic pattern: Voters, angry about high prices and exhausted by the incumbent party's culture war, opt to throw the bums out. The incoming party then overreads their victory as a mandate to find new ways to hike consumer prices and launch their own aggressive culture war (and sometimes an actual war). 

We saw this story with Democrats in 2020, who were elected to end the madness of the first Trump administration and the COVID-19 era, and instead hiked inflation with huge amounts of unnecessary fiscal stimulus and went "full woke" on a range of cultural issues. 

That set the stage for Donald Trump's historic political comeback in 2024. Once in office, the current president proceeded to raise the cost of living with tariffs against the entire globe, wage a war in Iran that's restricted the global supply of oil, and go all in on a range of right-wing social issues.

Two years after the much-ballyhooed "vibe shift," Democrats are now the ones staging the historic comeback. Will they now also overread this commanding victory and overreach too?

The post-election comments from many of Tuesday's victors give some indication that they've learned the lessons of recent history. 

James Talarico, the Democratic senator-elect from Texas, sounded downright conciliatory when he appeared on Fox News on Wednesday. 

"I look forward to working with him for all 31 million Texans."

Texas Senator-elect James Talarico says he's ready to work with President Trump, pointing to several issues where the Democrat believes they can find common ground.

Talarico gives Trump credit for doing a better… pic.twitter.com/IoDaMghrHW

— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 4, 2026

He said he was willing to work with Trump on bringing prices down through cutting red tape on housing construction and even complimented the president on having done a better job securing the border than his Democratic predecessor. That's an incredible statement given how polarizing and unpopular so much of Trump's immigration enforcement has been. 

Talarico is a sharp guy who knows he just won an election in a red-leaning state. One might expect him to adopt a more moderate composure. 

But even some of the more left-wing Democrats who triumphed in the midterms are sounding the same note.

When Abdul El-Sayed, the new senator-elect from Michigan, was asked on CNN yesterday what his first priorities in office would be, he said winding down the war in Iran, ending the tariff war with Canada, and reversing Republican cuts to Medicaid. 

That's a message tailored toward the priorities of the cost-conscious swing voters that put him in office, and not the radical dreams of a progressive base. 

The reprisals begin? On the flip side, The Washington Sun reports that senior congressional Democrats are passing around a lengthy dossier authored by the left-wing think tank Groundwork Collaborative, identifying company executives to haul in for oversight hearings in the next Congress. 

Per the Sun's reporting, some Democrats want to use their investigative powers to narrowly focus on Trump administration corruption. But the Groundwork document is pushing for a broader investigation into every industry and business practice that's angered progressives over the past two years. 

Senators like Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) reportedly see voters' anger over high prices as a mandate to prosecute big business for alleged price gouging behavior. 

This is effectively the approach Democrats took during the Biden administration. When trillions in economic stimulus spiked inflation, progressives like Warren promised to bring prices down by going after sandwich shop "monopolies." 

Now, instead of focusing on cutting tariffs and ending a war that's restricted global oil supply, some Democrats are reportedly itching to investigate AI labs and natural gas firms. 

That kind of approach will fail to rein in prices. It will plausibly alienate swing voters who didn't think they were voting for a witch hunt against big business when they voted against Republicans on Tuesday. 

Beyond investigating corporate America, Democrats are already calling for expanding Medicare and bringing back diversity, equity, and inclusion after Tuesday's election.

https://t.co/84VNVSp18V pic.twitter.com/UfNmHw6TT1

— Christian Britschgi (@christianbrits) November 4, 2026

If history is any guide, Democrats' huge majorities in the next Congress might be short-lived after all. 

Scenes from Washington, D.C.: The resistance to D.C.'s foie gras ban, supported by roughly three-quarters of voters on Tuesday, has already begun. 

Bart Hutchins, chef and co-owner of Butterworth's (a French bistro and popular right-wing hangout), has vowed to continue to serve the appetizer made from fattened duck liver for the next decade. 

This isn't quite full-on civil disobedience yet. The ban isn't scheduled to go into effect until July. Additionally, in D.C., the city has to fund enforcement of the law before it can go into full effect. 

That can take time. D.C.'s ban on flavored tobacco technically went into effect in September 2021, but funding for enforcement of the law didn't kick in until October 2022.

Hutchins also said there will likely be legal challenges to the ban. So, for the time being, foie gras is still on the menu.

QUICK HITS

• The latest jobs numbers show falling unemployment:

BREAKING: The US economy adds +165,000 jobs in October, well above expectations of +64,000.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, below expectations of 4.2%.

September's job number was also revised higher by +28,000 jobs.

Expectations for a December rate hike are rising on the…

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) November 6, 2026

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth won't be a senator after all.


• A ballot initiative that would have streamlined California's environmental review law is on track to fail.


• Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are cool to a similar reform to the federal environmental review law.

SCOOP: Jeffries spokesperson says Senate permitting bill "falls short," calls for more House input before they can support it:

"[It] falls short in several areas, including the manner in which NEPA reform is undertaken and the failure to adequately protect tribal sovereignty.

— Nico Portuondo (@NicoPortuondo) November 5, 2026

• Democrats ready a plan to repeal Trump's Canada tariffs.

The post Which Way, Democrats? appeared first on Reason Magazine.