Sent to newspapers 11/06/2026
Expectations have been set (Part 1 of 2)
Voters everywhere made their views clear this week: The Trump Era is over. Inflation, the Iran war, and government corruption all drove voters away from Republican candidates for Congress, statewide office, and all the way down the ballot.
As many analysts predicted, it was less an embrace of the Democratic Party, and overwhelmingly a rebuke to President Trump. 53 percent of voters polled expressed overall disapproval of the Democratic Party, despite voting for its candidates.
The Republicans’ trouncing this week means different things for the Federal government and for New Mexico’s government. We’re hearing “blue tsunami” a lot these days. But I heard it before, eight years ago.
I heard it in 2018, when I was sitting at New Mexico PBS, helping provide commentary for the live election results show. And in that midterm election, New Mexico Republicans lost every statewide race. It’s not gotten better.
Amazingly, the GOP lost more seats in the state House of Representatives – losing four and picking up one. The Democrats can now hold a quorum without a single Republican present. None of the Republicans who lost were extremist MAGA candidates. They simply had an R after their name on the ballot and were swept up in the anti-GOP backlash.
At the Federal level, there is a Republican in the White House with veto power, running agencies outside limits of Constitutional authority, using the Department of Justice as his personal law firm, employing unconfirmed-by-the-Senate special aides/envoys as primary overseas diplomatic negotiators, who has enriched himself and his family by billions since taking office in 2025.
Congress has significant Democratic majorities, but nothing near the 290 House seats and 67 Senate seats required to override a veto. The President has just named Stephen Miller, currently serving as deputy chief of staff for policy, as the new White House chief of staff. Miller is one of the most combative members of Trump’s inner circle. The dialog with the new Democrat majority in Congress will be less than cordial, to put it mildly.
Put another way, if you thought things sounded unhinged in the weeks leading up to the election, I think we’re about to get a White House that’s less like The West Wing and more like The Island of Doctor Moreau.
And without 60 votes for a filibuster-proof majority, impeachment is probably a wasted effort. Voters want accountability, but we also want action. Accountability could mean hearings for budget votes – like for the $1.5 trillion defense bill. Accountability could mean hearings about the Iran war and the boat strikes against alleged drug smugglers.
Accountability could mean ethics legislation, particularly around contracts awarded to companies featuring members of the President’s family on the board or as prominent investors. Or about prediction markets and government employees. Or enforcement of the emoluments clause of the Constitution.
Action could include immigration reform that not only secures the border put provides status and stability for workers who want to come to the United States for seasonal work. Action could include legislation that provides price relief to Americans that should get veto-proof bipartisan support, like reining in tariff powers.
There’s a great deal Congress can do that doesn’t involve impeachment. Voters want change, not noise.
Next week, I’ll talk more about what the election impact will mean for New Mexico Democrats, and a couple ideas about what New Mexico Republicans need to do to regroup. New Mexicans want change, too.
Merritt Hamilton Allen is an executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and one of cat. She can be reached at merritt@merrittocracy.news.