Thanks for putting some attention on the state legislature, and I learned about some organizations! Sorry I didn't toss some money to Justin Boneau, I'll remember next round.

The national vote was D +7.5% or so. Does everyone realize what a R +7.5% would have looked like? They would have gained somewhere over 60 seats. Their 1994 midterms were about that total margin. It's a wave. We ask voters to keep going Democrat to push past the baked in Republican tilt, and they -- we -- did it.

We’ve had Democratic majorities in both chambers for over a decade.

Democrats, led by Frank Chopp and Jay Inslee, gave Boeing their gigantic handout.

Democrats cut business taxes while making it harder for people to get unemployment during our recession.

Democrats have refused to pass rent control.

Tell me, Barak, are you new here?

@2 According to Friends of Warshington "About" page:

"Barak Gaster Barak is a doctor working in Seattle. He's lived in Washington for 20 years, where he's now helping raise two daughters. He realized that there was an urgent opportunity for like-minded people to work together to improve our state, so he helped start Friends of Washington. He has no financial or formal ties to any political or commercial organization."

So, he's not particularly new here, perhaps just not paying attention.

Here’s hoping they’ll make up for the spineless failure of keeping rapists and kiddie fiddlers free and at large by finally funding rape kits and lifting the statute of limitations on sexual predators. Voters aren’t accepting middle of the road peace keeping “democrats” anymore. Do what you were put in office for or get the fuck out of the way.

For the past 6 years Republicans have controlled the State Senate. We have had the barest majority for the past 10 months, during which progressive bills started passing. Looking back for the past 22 years, Republicans have often been in control the majority of the time of one or more of the State chambers. And many of the years when “Dems had control” it was on paper only, as many of these turncoat “Dems” actually voted on the R side most of the time. This is indeed historic.

Yeah, but there was a Blue Wave. It was pretty epic. Just not in the Senate, which unfortunately matters more than any other place right now, and is the most undemocratic component of the Gubmint.

@2 Here, here. As Gore Vidal noted, there is one party in America: the Property Party.

This is Barak Gaster. I agree that there was a very big Blue Wave nationally. Right now we're looking at having flipped 39 seats in the House, flipped 7 governor seats, made giant gains in more than a dozen state legistatures (not just WA) and managed to survive a brutal number of Dems up for reelection in the Senate from very red states with only two seats lost. Florida Senate race was a heartbreaking close call. But overall our hopes and expectations were extremely high, and mostly met.

@6 Max Solomon: Yes, but can't the newly gained Democratic control of the House start impeachment proceedings? Don't we finally have leverage to end this two year nightmare? Robert Mueller should have more than enough criminalizing evidence bby now to put the entire GOP in a maximum security prison for life.
@8 TheOtherBarak: I know I'M pumped up by this year's midterm election results. They're the best I've seen in decades. Now if Pinky Vargas could unseat Thug Ericksen in the tight race for the State Senate in the 42nd District, my extremely high expectations really will be met.

@9: My one big disappointment was that Big Oil could misguide so many voters into voting no on I-1631. That will prove a costly mistake.

It wasn't a blue wave, it was a blue tsunami. But not a "Poseidon Adventure" type tsunami. More like one of those tsunamis where the water just starts coming in and rises rapidly. President trump did the nation a real service by being so completely odious that even places like Orange County rejected him.

Auntie dear, I voted for 1631, but I think the initiative backers were as much to blame as "big oil". Everything I read didn't mention anything about how the money would be collected or what would be done with it.

This analysis misses one key fact. Percentage wise, the wave in the national legislature was bigger than WA state. 39/435 is 9% gain. 8/100 is 8% gain. Take into account the senate losses: 37/470 is 7.9% gain. 10/149 is 6.7% gain. The wave was more subdued in WA state than the national average.

This is a welcome perspective. High five indeed, Dr. Gaster! We have to proactively seek out news and perspective on local races, so easy to lose them in the larger nationally-focused coverage