Brack: Palmetto state takeaways after the crushing blue wave

Commentary by Andy Brack | The South Carolina Democratic Party’s strategy to run a viable candidate in each of the 124 seats in the S.C. House of Representatives paid off bigtime.

The 2026 national blue wave that transferred control of Congress away from Republicans had a coattail impact. Voters in S.C. House races cast ballots for enough Democratic candidates to break a GOP supermajority. That will have a real impact on the process of legislating in South Carolina as Republicans will no longer be able to steamroll Democrats on any issue they choose.

A clear takeaway is that having decent candidates makes a real difference in political races.

It’s a basic political concept that Fox News columnist Jason Chaffetz discussed after the blue wave blowout: “Fielding the better candidate is not optional. It may not always be definitive, but it is foundational. A candidate who cannot connect with people, articulate a positive vision of the future or run a disciplined campaign operation will eventually be vulnerable.”

Case in point: James Talarico, the Texas Democrat who won a U.S. Senate seat against a rightly maligned GOP attorney general. Despite hundreds of millions of negative Republican spending, Talarico connected with voters because he represented what they wanted – less corruption, less animosity and a deeper focus on issues like the cost of food and gas. The same kind of thing occurred in South Carolina where Dr. Annie Andrews prevailed over a Trump-endorsed incumbent, Darline Graham.

Other takeaways:

Endorsements may be losing their value. In a GOP special primary and runoff in August, Trump’s endorsement helped the newcomer Graham. But that didn’t seem to transfer to voters in the general election. Perhaps endorsements don’t matter as much as most politicos think.

Lack of results matters. Voters across the country seemed worn out with how Republicans in Congress didn’t do anything much to obstruct the poor decisions and policies by Trump or pass much of anything legislatively that could help regular people deal with higher prices on just about everything. So Tuesday’s voters sent the GOP to the woodshed across the nation to allow Democrats to make a historic flip of the U.S. Senate – something totally unexpected a year ago.

“This has been the most consequential election in this country in over 150 years, and today, voters were decisive and forceful in fighting against the forces of retrogression,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., after his Tuesday victory.

“Voters across America have chosen to put a check on the President and his corrupt administration. They have chosen Democrats to lead in the House and Senate Majority because we will be relentless in our fight to lower costs, expand opportunities, and give every American a fighting chance at the American dream.”

Prove it. Now that Democrats are retaking control of Congress, they need to keep their eyes on the doughnut, not the hole. In other words, they need to accomplish palpable things to create real change – otherwise they will face the same problem in two years that the GOP had in 2026.

In many ways, every election is a change election, noted former Congressman Beto O’Rourke during a recent interview in Texas: “There was no one for Republicans to blame for high diesel and gas prices, for low wages, for the ICE roundups that have not just broken up families, and put fear into communities, but have killed people throughout this state.”

Focus. Democrats need to focus on what voters want and resist temptations to “go after” Republicans. Sure, they need to make sure to hold bad actors accountable, but they don’t need to play the game of retribution. The remaining Republicans in Congress will do that for them.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.