By Ivan Sanchez
Donald Trump dominated the news once again this year, almost two years after January 6, 2021, shook the peaceful transfer of power in this country, unabridged for centuries. This year multiple indictments were filed against the former President, and 2024 brings the court cases that will decide his role going forward.
While much of the media has continued to paint next year’s presidential race as close, none of the harbingers of doom that we typically see for a party in threat of losing the presidency showed up this year. Democrats took back control of the Virginia legislature, abortion rights were enshrined in the constitution of Ohio, and Democrats grew their majority in the New Jersey legislature. Earlier in the year, Democrats flipped control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, giving liberals a 4-3 advantage.
Closer to home, a progressive mayoral candidate blew past the conservative option in Nashville, firmly cementing Music City as a progressive bastion in Red Tennessee. And south of Nashville, Williamson County residents rejected the politics of fear and voted against an extreme right-wing candidate.
All over the country, school board members that stood up against the book ban brigades won their elections. Even in the Republican primary, while Trump continues to be in first place, a large contingent of Republican primary voters are seeking an alternative to his rhetoric.
While there are signs of progress, Donald Trump continues to light anti-immigrant fires to his fervent base, recently saying “illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation,” echoing growing anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States and Europe.
The Colorado Supreme Court shocked the country on December 19th, removing Donald Trump from the ballot stating that he was ineligible for office due to his role in the January 6th riots at the US Capitol.
2024 will be a decisive year in the United States, and everything from abortion rights to immigrant rights will be on the ballot, and Americans and Tennesseans will choose what the next four years look like.
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