Democrats' best day of the new Trump era
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Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) speaks as he leaves the Senate chamber after delivering a record-setting floor speech on April 1. At right, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford greets supporters after her state Supreme Court win in Madison, Wis. Photos: Tasos Katopodis (left) and Scott Olson/Getty Images
Division and a lack of direction had seemingly defined Democrats in the early days of Trump's second term, but Tuesday offered a blue-tinted glimmer of victory.
The big picture: A record-shattering marathon speech on the Senate floor against the MAGA agenda, public House GOP disarray and a state Supreme Court win could be an elevator for the party amid fears they've plummeted to their deepest hole in nearly half a century.
- If the roar of applause from Dems after an emotional Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) snatched the record for the longest Senate speech from segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond was any sign, Dems may be finding their energy again.
Driving the news: Booker, in his 25-hour-long marathon speech, delivered an impassioned rebuke of the Trump administration and its DOGE-driven cuts to federal agencies and programs.
- In a social media post shared before he took to the Senate floor Monday evening, Booker said he'd heard calls across the country for lawmakers to "do more" to "recognize the urgency, the crisis of the moment."
- In some cases, those calls have come as a demand for new leadership willing to use more combative tactics, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) becoming the main target of the internal ire.
- Booker's grand gesture thrust him — and the Democratic Party — into the national spotlight, amassing hundreds of thousands of livestream views at a time when Trump's zone-flooding style has commandeered nearly every news cycle.
Zoom out: While Booker was putting human stamina to the test on the Senate floor, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was testing the limits of his own power over his caucus.
- Johnson's move attaching his motion to kill Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's (R-Fla.) proxy voting initiative to an unrelated GOP bill prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections sparked frustration among his party.
- Luna and eight other Republicans broke ranks from Johnson, giving him his biggest legislative hit of 2025 thus far, Axios' Andrew Solender reported. After the blow, he canceled half a week's worth of House votes.
And special elections held Tuesday could indicate trouble down the line for the GOP.
- In Wisconsin, Democratic-backed Judge Susan Crawford took down her GOP-backed opponent in a hotly contested state Supreme Court race that inhaled big donations from MAGA ally Elon Musk and other billionaires.
- Her win preserves the court's liberal majority and sends a powerful pre-midterm message to the MAGA world.
- While Republicans kept the Florida House seats previously held by national security adviser Mike Waltz and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the GOP candidates in Tuesday's special election fell far short of Trump's November performance in the Sunshine State.
Between the lines: While the 2026 midterms are still daunting for Senate Dems, Tuesday's gains spark questions about what could happen if the party carries that momentum into an election in which Republicans won't have Trump on the ballot.
- The GOP also has to fight the historic trope that the president's party takes a hit in midterms.
- Crawford's campaign leaned in hard on anti-Musk sentiment — whether Democrats borrow the strategy in upcoming elections, and whether Republicans adjust in their defense of DOGE, will be something to watch.
- Polls have shown Musk's moves are not sitting well with most respondents — even as the White House argues the sweeping changes pushed by the richest man in the world are part of Trump's "mandate."
The bottom line: Schumer told Semafor this year that "Trump will screw up," giving Dems openings for wins.
- But Booker's stand-and-speak approach, when pitted against the wait-and-see, put the spotlight on Democratic unity, rather than merely on a Trump trip-up.
- Booker repeatedly evoked the late John Lewis' signature advice to get in "good trouble" to "redeem the soul of our nation" during his epic speech.
- Amid what he called "a moral moment," Booker ended his final moments on the floor with a call to action: "Let's get in good trouble."
Go deeper: Slumping Tesla sales, Wisconsin wipeout punctuate Elon Musk's losing streak
