Six months ago, victories by Jason Carter and Michelle Nunn still seemed unlikely, but finishing within five points of their Republican opponents looked as though it would be at least a sign of good progress in turning Georgia competitive.
They lost by eight.
Yes, it was a bad year for Democrats nationally, yes the Republicans succeeded in turning the race into a referendum on an unpopular president, and yes, the midterm electorate is almost always more conservative than in presidential years.
But still, they lost by eight. There had been talk that even in defeat, Georgia Democrats would accelerate the transition to a battleground state by a four-year election cycle. That did not happen.
Yet somehow, losing by eight doesn't seem so bad in the context of the drubbing the Democrats took around the country. Democrats are supposed to lose in Georgia, but not in places like Massachusetts or Maryland. They lost governors' races, Senate races, House races. Mitch McConnell will become Senate majority leader and will enjoy a comfortable margin.
In his victory speech, a justifiably satisfied McConnell talked firmly of standing by his principles, but to his credit he also talked of the necessity of working with President Obama when possible. “Just because we have a two-party system doesn’t mean we have to be in perpetual conflict,” he said.
Meanwhile, down in the Lone Star State, Ted Cruz had other ideas.
"The Texas ethos, I would suggest to you, is that give me a horse and a gun and an open plain, and we can conquer the world," he said in a celebratory
Dramatic as last night was, I suspect it merely sets the stage for one of the more interesting two-year periods in American political history. Those who argued that modern Republicans had overplayed their hand with their confrontational, maximalist approach -- and I'm certainly one of them -- were taught otherwise, at least for the moment, and those within the GOP who have counseled moderation have been stripped of whatever small leverage they might have possessed.
Because elections do have consequences, and this was a big one.
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