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With election anxieties high, a lesson in accepting defeat offers hope for future of democracy
On the eve of Election Day, tensions are high and voters are feeling anxious — that’s been a theme throughout this entire election season.
“There’s a lot of drama everywhere. People have lost contact with humanity,” said voter Connie Wilson.
The U.S. was also an anxious country when George Washington took the first oath of office at Federal Hall in Lower Manhattan. The fledgling nation was riddled with debt, the Constitution was weak and the judicial system was in its infancy.
Over two centuries later, in the first presidential election since COVID-19 and the civil unrest and social upheaval of 2020, we are even more anxious now.
A poll by the American Psychological Association found 69% of Americans feel significant stress about this election, while 72% fear the outcome will lead to violence. More than half fear it will spell the end of our democracy.
While there may not be a cure for our national angst, there is still one thing that works — fair play. That means accepting defeat when defeat is clear, even when that clarity is wrapped in microscopically small margins.
Last year, Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. The race in a district south of Richmond attracted nearly $6 million in spending.
“I campaigned for 18 months for a position that was only for two years, but it was worth it to me,” Adams said.
On election night, Adams trailed by 78 votes.
“We knew that we were down on election night, but we were still hopeful because we knew the process was not complete and there was opportunity to shrink the margin,” Adams said.
Under state law, Adams asked for a recount, but she never denounced her opponent, screamed fraud or alleged the election had been stolen.
The recount added 25 more votes to Adams’ total, but it was still not enough to win.
“It was heartbreaking. I’m not gonna lie. It was heartbreaking. But it wasn’t emotional because I didn’t believe it. It wasn’t emotional because I didn’t trust it. It was only emotional because it wasn’t what I hoped for, but I accept it,” Adams said.
When asked about the importance of accepting a close defeat, Adams said, “Before any of the rhetoric and before any of the picking of sides, remember who you are. Remember who your neighbors are. And at the end of the day know that we played by the rules and win or lose, that is the outcome.”
That offers a lesson in the burden of loving democracy and our constitutional republic, commanding us to love this experiment more than our own ambition, and accepting defeat when we have lost to carry on for America — not ourselves.
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Sen. Jon Tester and Republican challenger Tim Sheehy are facing off in Montana as the Democratic incumbent fights to hold onto his seat in the Senate in a race that’s key to determining which party controls the upper chamber.
Considered the most endangered Democrat seeking reelection in the Senate this cycle, Tester, a moderate in deep-red Montana, has been under the political microscope for months as he campaigns to keep the seat he’s held for nearly two decades. Although the 68-year-old has fended off previous challenges, shifting demographics and political dynamics in the state appeared to enhance the pickup opportunity for Republicans in the 2024 election.
Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and founder of an aerial firefighting company, received his party’s backing as the candidate to take on Tester. The 38-year-old worked to draw a contrast with Tester, portraying himself as an outsider during the campaign while painting the Democrat as an establishment candidate with deep ties to Washington. He also touted bringing jobs to Montana with his business, which made him wealthy enough to help fund his campaign.
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Sheehy, who grew up in Minnesota, has faced criticism for lacking the deep roots that Tester has in the state. He has also faced questions about discrepancies in his story of how he sustained a gunshot wound. Meanwhile, Tester sought to portray his opponent as an out-of-touch carpetbagger, likening the GOP candidate to rich out-of-staters who have flocked to Montana in recent years.
Tester is a third-generation Montana farmer. First elected to the Senate in 2006, his brand is well known in the state, and despite its more conservative politics, he’s won reelection twice as a moderate Democrat.
But Montana’s political landscape has changed. In 2020, Donald Trump won Montana by more than 16 points, and trends suggest that an influx of new residents in the state is made up largely of Republicans. The state’s changing dynamics posed a serious hurdle for Tester — the sole Democrat serving in statewide office in Montana.
The Montana Senate seat is a key target for Republicans looking to build a GOP majority in the upper chamber. And it marks among the final Democratic holdouts in the Great Plains, and in red states more broadly.
With a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate, Democrats have little room for error. After Sen. Joe Manchin opted not to seek reelection, all but guaranteeing a GOP flip of his seat in West Virginia, Republicans looked to Tester’s seat as the next best opportunity to gain ground.
