‘Blue Tsunami’ Impresses Bay Area Voters. There’s More Work to Do, They Say
The 2026 midterm elections were historic for Democrats, but those who kept the Golden State blue are adamant that now is not the time for party leaders to get complacent.
Bay Area voters rallied in San Francisco and San José on Saturday to celebrate a “tsunami” of firsts and accomplishments for the Democratic Party – multiple flipped red-to-blue seats, the first-ever Black female governor in the country and the first Muslim member of the Senate, to name a few – in what many say is a repudiation of President Donald Trump and the issues that took priority in his Make America Great Again movement.
Organized by the Can’t Stop California campaign, the demonstrations brought together unions, advocates, community members and some elected officials to take the win in stride.
“Our work is just beginning, because he has left a tsunami of horror and a horrible mess behind him,” Lisa Hesselgesser of Oakland said at the San Francisco rally. “Top Democrats – their main concern should be supporting the new Democrats coming in.”
Democrats will start 2027 in control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, having flipped dozens of Republican-held seats. In California, where outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom proudly gerrymandered district maps, Democrats picked up at least five Republican seats.
Attendees of Saturday’s rallies told KQED they want Democratic Party leaders to pass the torch to the “new guard”; abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement or take a more humane approach to immigration; curb the power of billionaires; and focus on healthcare.
Ellen Simms of Berkeley said the left has created a big tent of diverse views that need to be managed.
“When you have a big tent, you have a lot of different ideas about where to go, and I think we need to have a very frank discussion about what it is. and why they came out to vote,” Simms said.
At the San Francisco rally, Anita Medal of Berkeley, said she felt “relief” from Tuesday’s results and a similar joy to when President Barack Obama was elected in 2008.
“But it didn’t quite materialize. I’m much more skeptical now,” said Medal, rocking a cowboy hat and a jacket spotted with pins and patches saying things like, “ICE, GTFO.”
Locally, community members also noticed a shift left that comes with its own work ahead.
Progressive San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, who fell short in her bid for Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat in Congress against state Sen. Scott Wiener, said that work also needs to continue in San Francisco.
“This is that moment when we win an election, we say, ‘We won – what do we do?’” Chan told attendees in front of San Francisco’s City Hall. “We have to hold the people we elected – hold their feet to the fire.”
Jennifer Esteen, vice president of organizing at SEIU 1021, called out San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, in particular — earning cheers from Saturday’s crowd: “Daniel, do right!”
Lurie, whose popularity has polled high in recent months, appears to have won in his own campaign push to “Clean Up City Hall,” despite pushback from some progressives. Lurie-backed Propositions D, E and F are probably going to come out in his favor.
In the East Bay, progressive Claudia Jiménez, a Richmond City Council member, declared victory Friday in her bid for mayor of the city after Contra Costa County elections officials released updated results on her contest with moderate Ahmad Anderson.
Former Richmond City Council member Melvin Willis, part of the same progressive group to which Jiménez belongs, said he was excited to see what Jiménez had in store for the city.
“When she dives into an issue, she dives into it – will dedicate herself to it and check in with the community and try to understand it as much as possible and try to make the right decision,” Willis said.
In San José, Dominic Barroga, a chapter officer at the Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America, said the biggest risk of Democrats coming into power again is complacency.
“People will become apathetic again if [they] don’t do what we elected them to do,” Barroga said in an interview. “That’s why I think it’s really important that we’re here today to encourage our elected leaders to hold the current administration accountable.”
KQED’s Janea Melido contributed to this report.