如果民主党人现在醒了，他们对下一步该做什么有着截然不同的看法。
也周二的结果告诉他们他们应该做得更多，做得更快，或者他们一直在寻求做得太多，太快。提供的另一种选择是，这一切都不是他们的错——共和党的谎言和媒体的失误欺骗了选民，让他们认为共和党候选人是正确的选择。
本质上，这意味着民主党从近年来遭遇的最糟糕的选举之一中走出来，基本上与今年大部分时间(如果不是过去五年的话)的党内斗争相同。
乔·拜登总统的议程仍悬而未决众议院议员甚至现在还试图加入新的条款，包括移民改革、州和地方税收减免以及带薪探亲假。
总统星期三说政治命运将会转变如果民主党人“只是产生结果”——基本上与他本周早些时候、上周、上个月和此前的信息相同。
“把它拿到我的办公桌上，”他对国会的民主党人说他希望通过的法案。
共和党人正在相对轻松地消化这些结果。弗吉尼亚州、新泽西州和其他地方的选民似乎更容易接受基本的——是的，通常是对基层友好的——信息:通货膨胀、汽油价格、空货架、可靠的学校、保护儿童安全。
对民主党人来说，2020年、2018年和2016年都可以看到本周发生的事情的警告信号。
不过，今年的损失至少在一定程度上是对他们在控制华盛顿方面所做的判断。不管你喜不喜欢，他们推动立法通过的主要原因是大创意、更大的价格标签、小政治斗争以及违背承诺。
与...的关系阿维·哈珀
民主党人评价前州长特里·麦考利夫性能差在周二的州长选举中选举一些组织者敦促该党加大对黑人选民的投资。
将近20%的弗吉尼亚人认为自己是黑人。麦考利夫在民主党在联邦的据点表现不佳，包括像汉普顿路这样黑人人口集中的地区和该州首府里士满周围的地区。
“弗吉尼亚是一个预览会发生什么黑人未来行动基金智库负责人艾丽西娅·加尔扎说:“如果我们不能投资一个为黑人选民服务的大胆议程，2022年全国范围内都将如此。”民主党人必须将这一损失视为对该党投资什么和不投资什么的公投，并加倍投资于黑人选民和黑人社区需要的政策。"
这一损失发生之际，拜登政府向黑人选民做出的许多承诺仍未兑现。除其他问题外，政府未能通过关于投票权和警察改革的立法。
“不要认为黑人的投票是理所当然的，”全美有色人种协进会总统德里克·约翰逊在关于投票失败的法案的声明中说。“不要破坏我们的民主。”
小费亚里沙·维尔塞马
为了今年第三次了此外，参议院共和党人阻止了在上议院开始辩论联邦投票权的行动，这表明在可预见的未来，州政府官员可以继续在选举管理上展示他们的力量。
只有一名共和党人，阿拉斯加州的参议员莉萨·穆尔科斯基与民主党人一起投票，推动了关于约翰·刘易斯投票权提升法案的辩论，该法案将允许司法部和联邦法院审查州选举法，并将恢复选民质疑这些法律的能力。穆尔科斯基对该法案的支持来自对与美洲原住民和阿拉斯加人投票权相关的立法的关键补充。
在该法案失败的消息传出之前，佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)呼吁在州政府内部成立一个新的小组，专门负责选举犯罪。“如果发现有人在收集选票，你就向这些人报告，这是他们唯一的工作(进行调查)，”德桑蒂斯周三告诉支持者，同时详细说明了一项提议，即提高对违反他希望立法机构在特别会议上实施的建议改革的刑事处罚。
这位共和党州长在本月即将举行的特别立法会议上努力解决选举诚信问题，一年前，他赞扬了他所在的州在2020年总统选举中的选举管理。去年11月，前总统唐纳德·特朗普拿下佛罗里达州。
Losses do little to bring Democrats unity: The Note
If Democrats are awake now, they arose with starkly varying visions about what to do next.
EitherTuesday's resultstell them they should do more and do it more quickly, or that they have been seeking to do too much, too fast all along. Another option being offered is that none of it was really their fault -- that Republican lies and media failings duped voters into thinking GOP candidates were the right choices.
It means, in essence, that Democrats come out of one of the worst elections they've suffered in recent years having basically the same intra-party fight they've been having for most of this year, if not the past five.
President Joe Biden'sagenda remains in limbo, with House members even now trying to wedge in new provisions covering immigration reform, state and local tax deductions and paid family leave.
The president said Wednesdaypolitical fortunes will turnif Democrats "just produce results" -- basically the same message he had earlier this week, last week, last month and before that.
"Get it to my desk," he said, addressing Democrats in Congress about the two multi-trillion-dollarbills he wants passed.
Republicans are digesting the outcomes with relative ease. Voters in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere seemed more receptive to basic -- and, yes, often base-friendly -- messaging: inflation, gas prices, empty shelves, reliable schools, keeping children safe.
For Democrats, warning signs about what happened this week were visible in 2020, 2018 and 2016.
This year's losses, though, go down at least in part as a judgment on what they have done with control of Washington. Like it or not, their push to get legislation passed has come off primarily as about big ideas, bigger price tags and petty political fights -- as well as broken promises.
The RUNDOWN withAveri Harper
While Democrats evaluate former Gov. Terry McAuliffe'spoor performancein Tuesday's gubernatorialelection, some organizers are urging the party to invest more heavily in the Black electorate.
Nearly 20% of Virginians identify as Black. McAuliffe underperformed in Democratic strongholds in the commonwealth, including areas with concentrated Black populations like Hampton Roads and the area around Richmond, the state's capital.
"Virginia is a preview ofwhat can happenacross the nation in 2022 if we fail to invest in a bold agenda that delivers for Black voters," said Alicia Garza, head of think tank Black to the Future Action Fund. "Democrats must view this loss as a referendum on what the party invests in and what they don't, and double down on investments in policies that Black voters and Black communities need."
This loss comes as many of the promises the Biden administration made to Black voters remain unaddressed. Among other issues, the administration has failed to pass legislation on voting rights and police reform.
"Don't take the Black vote for granted," said NAACP President Derrick Johnson in statement on the failed voting bill. "Don't torpedo our democracy."
The TIP withAlisa Wiersema
For thethird time this year, Senate Republicans blocked a move to begin debating federal voting rights in the upper chamber, signaling that for the foreseeable future, state executives could continue flexing their muscles over the administration of elections.
Only one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted with Democrats to advance debate on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would have allowed the Justice Department and federal courts to review state election laws and would have restored voters' ability to challenge them. Murkowski's backing of the bill came from key additions to the legislation related to the voting rights of Native Americans and Alaskans.
The news of the bill's failure came on the heels of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' call to create a new group within the state government tasked with focusing solely on election crimes. "If someone is found ballot harvesting, you report it to these people and this is their sole job (to investigate)," DeSantis told supporters on Wednesday while detailing a proposal to increase criminal penalties for violating the suggested changes he’s hoping the legislature implements in the special session.
The Republican governor's push to address election integrity during an upcoming special legislative session this month is taking place a year after he praised his state's election administration coming out of the 2020 presidential election. Last November, former President Donald Trump carried Florida.
