Overview of BONUS Midterm Reaction: Mississippi + Alaska Senate updates, El-Sayed wins and Vance melts down
Crooked Media reacts to a huge election night for Democrats, with control of the Senate expanding to 54 seats, a massive House performance, and major state-level gains across the map. The hosts celebrate Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan Senate win, analyze J.D. Vance’s post-election spin on the war in Iran and Israel politics, and break down why Democrats’ gains at the governor and state-legislative level may matter just as much as the federal totals.
Big Election Night Takeaways
- Democrats reached 54 Senate seats as results continued to come in.
- In the House, Democrats had already won 228 seats, with NBC projecting as many as 258.
- The hosts describe the results as a historic Democratic wave, far beyond what most analysts expected.
- They emphasize that the night wasn’t just about Congress — state-level wins could shape redistricting, election certification, and 2028 strategy.
Michigan Senate: Abdul El-Sayed’s Win
- Abdul El-Sayed defeated Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race.
- The hosts highlight El-Sayed’s victory speech as both funny and pointed, especially his jab at J.D. Vance:
- He joked that Vance will have to swear him in as senator in January.
- He also leaned into Michigan-Ohio rivalry with “Wolverine one, Buckeye zero.”
- The panel says El-Sayed’s post-win pettiness felt earned, given the racist and Islamophobic attacks he faced during the campaign.
- They note the historic significance:
- First Muslim senator
- First Crooked Media podcaster to win a Senate seat
J.D. Vance’s Reaction and Political Positioning
- The hosts react to a long J.D. Vance post-election message blaming the Democratic loss on:
- the war in Iran
- cost of living/inflation
- “America First”
- changing the U.S. relationship with Israel
- Their main critique:
- Vance is trying to op-ed his way to the presidency
- He speaks like an outsider analyzing the administration, even though he’s part of it
- They argue:
- The Iran war is not something “done to them” — it was a Trump decision
- Vance’s Israel comments are more about 2028 primary politics than an honest postmortem
- They say Vance is stuck in a political bind:
- He can’t break from Trump without risking his place in the administration
- But staying overly aligned makes it hard to build an independent presidential case
- The hosts compare his position to how Marco Rubio has managed to stay in the administration without owning the Iran issue.
Why the State Results Matter
- The hosts stress that the biggest underappreciated story may be the state-level map.
- Democrats appear poised to hold governorships in states totaling 392 electoral votes.
- They emphasize the importance of:
- Democratic governors in key swing states
- New or strengthened Democratic trifectas in states like Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and possibly Nevada
- Breaking Republican trifectas in places like Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Texas, and New Hampshire
- Their takeaway: this could significantly improve Democrats’ position for:
- redistricting
- election certification
- countering future attempts to undermine results in 2028
Senate Runoff/Outstanding Races: Mississippi and Alaska
Mississippi
- The hosts say Democrats are feeling very good about Mississippi.
- They suggest the remaining vote could be favorable to the Democratic candidate because it is coming from places with large Black populations and strong prior Democratic performance.
Alaska
- Alaska is still unresolved due to ranked-choice voting and delayed ballot counting.
- The hosts say Democrats are cautiously optimistic, noting:
- a strong share of outstanding vote appears favorable
- final tabulation could take until mid-November
- They call Alaska’s slow process absurdly drawn out, but also appreciate that it’s not the whole Senate hanging in the balance there.
House Results and the Scale of the Wipeout
- They point to a New York Times/Nate Cohn graphic suggesting a D+13 House environment — an unusually large Democratic margin.
- The hosts say Speaker Mike Johnson will likely be remembered as a brief, ineffective placeholder:
- He mainly tried to avoid being ousted
- He shepherded through cuts to Medicaid and a giant tax cut
- He now appears to be out of the leadership picture
- Their tone toward Johnson is dismissive; they see him as a historical footnote rather than a consequential speaker.
Bad Takes and Election-Night Schadenfreude
- They replay several overconfident or embarrassing Republican/media reactions:
- Benny Johnson declaring the Democratic “blue tsunami” fake before polls closed
- Scott Pressler celebrating a Republican win in Guam
- Clay Travis minimizing the scale of GOP losses
- Their general point: many MAGA figures were wildly wrong, and the hosts enjoy revisiting those calls.
What This Means for Democrats
- The hosts are broadly optimistic but also practical:
- Democrats should be pleased, but not complacent
- The real strategic value is in the state machinery and long-term structural gains
- They argue that these results could help Democrats:
- defend elections more effectively
- push back against gerrymandering
- improve their position heading into 2028
Action Items and Shoutouts
- They thank listeners who:
- donated through Vote Save America
- volunteered for campaigns
- helped flip the targeted “Crooked Dozen” House seats
- They report:
- $3.7 million+ raised
- 20,000 volunteers mobilized
- They encourage supporters to:
- visit votesaveamerica.com
- consider a Friend of the Pod subscription at crooked.com/friends for bonus content, ad-free episodes, newsletters, and discounts
Bottom Line
This episode is a victory lap, but also a strategic postmortem. The hosts celebrate a Democratic blowout in Congress and major down-ballot wins, while using J.D. Vance’s awkward post-election message to illustrate the Republican coalition’s internal contradictions. Their biggest takeaway: this wasn’t just a good night for Democrats — it may have reshaped the 2028 battlefield.