Two weeks after millions of Americans filled the streets in more than 2,600 “No Kings” rallies, that same urgency carried into the voting booth. On Oct.18, 2025, I stood in a crowd that reflected the full sweep of this country. We were all gathered around a simple belief that no single person stands above this democracy. Organizers estimated more than seven million people took part, and independent reporting confirmed that millions marched nationwide. The message that day was unmistakable and deeply American. We do not have kings. We have a Constitution. And the people—not any president or party—remain its authors.
That conviction showed up at the polls on Nov. 4, 2025. Turnout was unusually strong for an off-year election, and the results from governor’s mansions to city halls told the same story. Voters were done with performative politics and demanded competence, fairness and a government that protects rights while tackling everyday costs. Power still begins and ends with the people.
Tallying the Results
Virginia offered the night’s clearest signal. Democrat Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to become the Commonwealth’s first woman governor, and Democrats swept the other statewide offices as well. Ghazala Hashmi won the lieutenant governor’s race, becoming the first Muslim woman ever elected statewide in the United States. Jay Jones unseated incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares. The sweep restored unified Democratic control in Richmond, Virginia, and underscored that an inclusive, pragmatic pitch can beat grievance politics.
New Jersey reinforced that theme. Voters elected Democrat Mikie Sherrill to the governor’s office over Jack Ciattarelli, keeping the statehouse in Democratic hands despite late efforts to nationalize the race. It was another instance of voters privileging steadiness over spectacle.
New York City delivered a mandate for change and a piece of history. With the highest mayoral turnout since 1969, voters elected Zohran Mamdani on an agenda centered on affordable housing and equity. He becomes the city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor and, at 34, its youngest in generations, a win powered by a diverse coalition and an energized electorate.
California voters, meanwhile, strengthened guardrails of democracy itself. Proposition 50, aimed at ensuring fairer representation through redistricting reforms, passed decisively despite attempts to cast doubt on the state’s election processes. Expect court skirmishes challenging the proposition, but the public’s appetite for independent map-drawing came through loud and clear.
Some of the night’s most consequential outcomes were down-ballot. In Mississippi, court-ordered special elections under fairer maps yielded three Democratic pickups. They ended the GOP’s veto-proof supermajority in the state Senate. The Legislature remains Republican-controlled, but the era of rubber-stamping is over. It is a win years in the making for organizers who fought for representative districts.
Georgia provided a pocketbook shockwave. Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard flipped two seats on the Public Service Commission, marking the first statewide Democratic wins since 2006, following months of anger over rate hikes. When candidates connect democracy talk to kitchen-table costs, voters listen.
And Detroit made history. City Council President Mary Sheffield won in a landslide to become the city’s first woman mayor, succeeding Mike Duggan and promising neighborhood investment and inclusive growth. In a city that emerged from bankruptcy only a decade ago, the symbolism and the policy implications are profound.
What Does It All Mean?
First, this was a rebuke of strongman swagger. High-profile contests where Trump intervened broke toward Democrats and voters across purple and red terrain favored normalcy over chaos. Second, mobilization matters. When millions march in October and millions vote in November, activism is being converted into power. Third, issues decided races. Voters defended democratic norms with measures like California’s Prop 50. However, they also punished leaders for rising utility bills, unaffordable housing and threats to reproductive freedom. Finally, representation is not window dressing. From Richmond to Detroit to New York, leadership now resembles the people it serves and that changes what the government considers urgent.
Both parties will read these results going into 2026. Democrats see momentum if they keep their messages grounded in real life and keep their tent open to independents and moderates who have crossed over. Republicans face a choice on tone and focus. They can double down on grievances, or they can return to basics, focusing on the cost of living and competent governance without the chaos. Voters just issued a warning. They will deliver a verdict again next year.
The more profound truth is bigger than any party. The story of 2025 is about people reminding their leaders who is in charge. From Mississippi to Michigan, from commissions to city halls, Americans insisted that the job of government is to protect rights and deliver results. There is nothing more American than saying we do not have kings and then proving it. This year, the people did exactly that.
I showed up to the “No Kings” march on Oct.18, 2025, in Washington, D.C., carrying more fear than faith. The headlines were loud. The country felt tired. I asked myself if any of this would matter. Then the chants rose like a choir and wrapped around us. We do not have kings. I heard a father beside me whisper, “I brought my son so he will remember what courage sounds like.” Somewhere in that sound, my worry began to let go. Standing among thousands in Washington, D.C., I felt a country remembering who it is.
Two weeks later, the ballots came in and America is not asleep. America has not resigned. Voters stood up for fair maps, fair prices and basic dignity. They chose leaders who want to solve problems, not stage fights. The unsung heroes were the election workers who opened gym doors before sunrise and closed them long after dark so neighbors could vote in peace. Some folks still say a march is only noise. I watched that noise turn into neighbors registering neighbors and lines that wrapped around school hallways.
If you felt hopeless this year, I was right there with you. Here is what I learned: Hope is not a feeling. Hope is a practice. It looks like a pastor opening the fellowship hall for a phone bank. It looks like a student knocking on one more door. It looks like organizers who did more than fill streets. They built carpools, trainings and phone trees that carried people all the way to the polls. I marched because I want a country where power bills do not break families and where fair maps do not depend on a courtroom. That is what rising looks like in a republic. You march. You organize. You vote. You keep going.
Here is the invitation. Find your local election board. Sign up to be a poll worker. Bring two first-time voters with you next time. Check to see if your neighbor needs a ride. This election was not the end. It was the beginning. We have another date with our democracy in 2026. We showed up. We spoke up. Now, let us continue to show up until liberty belongs to every neighbor on every block. The highest office in this country still belongs to the same people it always has: we the people.
This MFP Voices opinion essay reflects the personal opinion of its author(s). The column does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.