A Hopeful Week For Our Democracy
A pivotal week reminds us: democracy endures when citizens choose hope, resist authoritarianism, and reclaim their power at the ballot box.
By Jeremi Suri
“Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and Senators and Congressmen and Government officials, but the voters of this country.”
Franklin Roosevelt, 1938
This week might begin our climb back from two months of destruction to our democracy. The change will only be a start, and there are many more attacks on democracy planned by President Donald Trump and his fellow authoritarians. What will make this week different is the opportunity for millions of people to affirm their commitment to representative government – not the rule of billionaires – at the ballot box.
On Tuesday, April 1, voters in Wisconsin will vote for a new state supreme court justice who will tilt the balance on the bench toward voting, reproductive, and free speech rights or the restrictions on these protections promoted by Republicans. Brad Schimel, the Republican candidate, has received more than $20 million from Elon Musk. Musk has also promised to pay voters as much as $1 million for pledging to vote against “activist judges.”
Susan Crawford, the Democratic candidate, has received major donations from party leaders, but she has condemned Schimel’s reliance on the billionaire who has stolen control of the federal government through his secretive and unelected DOGE committee. She has also connected Schimel to Trump’s repeated efforts to subvert the Constitution through executive orders that deny birthright citizenship, voting rights, and due process, among other long-standing principles. Crawford has promised to help restore constitutional law and citizen protections in Wisconsin and across the country.
The race between Crawford and Schimel appears to be close, especially as Musk pours money into the state and rightwing media increases its propaganda. Nonetheless, we can expect a large turnout on Tuesday (thousands have voted early), and there is good reason to believe that many voters are repulsed by Musk’s corruption and Trump’s authoritarianism. An electoral victory for Crawford, in a swing state that Trump won in November, will show that voters are pulling back their government to established constitutional principles. Crawford’s strong campaign, despite Republican oversteps, will send a strong signal that middle Americans are rejecting Trump’s destructive behavior.
In Florida, there are two special elections on Tuesday: congressional seats formerly held by Mike Waltz (now NSC Advisor and Signal user) and Matt Gaetz (rejected attorney general nominee and general creep). These are both heavily Republican, gerrymandered districts where Democratic voters are a small minority. Nonetheless, these elections appear surprisingly close. Republicans are noticeably less enthusiastic about voting for men who associate themselves with Musk and Trump than they were in November. Unaffiliated voters are leaning heavily toward Democrats. The Republicans are still likely to win these two seats, but their weaknesses are undeniable. Their voters are not happy with them, and there are potential openings in these districts and others.
Republican leaders recognize that voters are revolting against Trump and defending democracy. Most Republicans in Congress have stopped hosting town hall meetings for fear that their constituents will express anger with cuts to government services, continued high inflation, and America’s retreat from allies abroad. President Trump has withdrawn Representative Elise Stefanik’s nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations because he is concerned that his control over the House of Representatives is in jeopardy.
After weeks of cowardly silence, Republicans in the Senate are beginning to express their opposition to Trump and Musk’s excesses, creating some roadblocks. Republican senators are still too compliant, but they will be encouraged to speak out more if Tuesday shows voters pushing against the administration. Senators must run state-wide races in many closely divided states; they do not benefit from partisan gerrymandering.
The state of our democracy remains deeply imperiled by the dominance of billionaires, authoritarians, and self-serving cowards in the Republican Party. They have shown a willingness to trash our government time and again, and they will surely do more of the same. They will control the presidency, Congress, and many state houses until at least the end of 2026. The damage to our country will deepen before it reverses.
We can, however, find hope this week from the opportunities our democracy continues to offer for citizens to pull leaders back to reason. Courts defend the law, states share power with the federal government, and voters ultimately change the people in charge. This is a very messy and imperfect process that is distorted by money and gerrymandering. But votes still matter, and voters can demand that government serves them.
Hope can help to bring out voters. In our legitimate anger, we must reject indifference and despondence. Encourage everyone you know to use their power – at the ballot box and elsewhere. This can be a week of small but serious hope. We are the true rulers of our democracy.
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Jeremi Suri holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a professor in the University's Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Professor Suri is the author and editor of eleven books on politics and foreign policy, most recently: Civil War By Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy. His other books include: The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office; Liberty’s Surest Guardian: American Nation-Building from the Founders to Obama; Henry Kissinger and the American Century; and Power and Protest: Global Revolution and the Rise of Détente. His writings appear in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN.com, Atlantic, Newsweek, Time, Wired, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and other media. Professor Suri is a popular public lecturer and comments frequently on radio and television news. His writing and teaching have received numerous prizes, including the President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Texas and the Pro Bene Meritis Award for Contributions to the Liberal Arts. Professor Suri hosts a weekly podcast, “This is Democracy.”