Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor's New Yorker article argues that Southern Black Democratic candidates in the 2026 midterms weathered racist attacks from Donald Trump and his allies and ran unexpectedly strong campaigns, with Keisha Lance Bottoms becoming the first Black woman elected governor and wins for Abdul El-Sayed and Scott Colom. Taylor writes that these class-focused campaigns show the viability of Democratic politics in the South, if the party chooses to invest there.