What Money Could Not Buy
The US midterm counts are not finished, but the Democrats have taken the House and the Senate.
What Money Could Not Buy
Elon Musk spent about $474 million on the midterms, by the New York Times's count, more than any donor in any cycle. The same $474 million would have given $1,000 to each of 474,000 Americans behind on rent or a hospital bill. Around $224 million went to Texas for Ken Paxton. Paxton lost to James Talarico, the first Democrat to win statewide there since 1994. Money buys ads and canvassers. It did not buy a seat for a man his own party impeached, and it did not buy the House. And a Democrat won. In Texas.
I listened to Talarico's speech on the evening of November 2, 2026, at Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, Texas. It was his final campaign speech before Election Day, and it was a lesson no matter what country you live in or which party you support.
In his speech there were powerful lines.
"This election is a battle between the powers that be and the powers that ought to be... Big money is powerful, but it is nothing—nothing—compared to people power."
His message was clear. It is time to kick out the elites and return power to the people. It is time to kick out the billionaires who buy favours and politicians and to return power to the people. And he is correct. One man spent $474 million to secure politicians who would favour his business contracts with the state. But Musk lost.
"There is no love of God without love of neighbor. Two thousand years ago, when the powers that be hurt his neighbors, that barefoot rabbi didn't stay in his room and pray. He walked into the seat of power and he flipped over the tables of injustice."
Whether you are religious or not, the image does the work. Kick out the corrupt. Love thy neighbour. How can anyone disagree with this message? Talarico's message was not a message of red versus blue. It was a message for a new politics, a message calling people to unite against the corrupt and against the billionaire class that corrupts politics. His speeches were closer to those of Zohran Mamdani and Bernie Sanders. His message was more socialist and did not sound like the Democrats of old.
Texas was not a small test. Until Tuesday, Republicans had won every statewide race there since 1994, and the biggest donor in any cycle stood behind Paxton. Talarico had a message and the people who came to hear it. The ads ran and the money moved, but the voters still chose the man who spoke of neighbours and tables of injustice. That does not mean money no longer matters in politics. It means money is not the last word. A voter in a booth can still say no to the biggest donor in American politics, and in Texas the voters did.
No matter where you live, a new politics is needed. The days of kings are gone, and they should stay gone. It should be the norm that politicians work for the people who voted for them and for those who voted against them, hold themselves to moral and ethical standards and are held accountable by the people.