the results of the 2026 us midterms: how sabrina carpenter paved the way for the blue tsunami

about a week ago, americans took to the polls for the 2026 midterm elections, voting for all 435 seats in the house of representatives, 35 seats in the senate, as well as various state and local positions.

you might have also seen that the democratic party came out on top, winning control of both the house of representatives and the senate back from the republican party. this is a significant result for the democrats, particularly as they prepare to challenge the trump administration during its final two years in office. it's also a result that has given many young and marginalised americans reason to feel a little more optimistic about the political direction of their country - which in itself is poignant, as millennial optimism has been trending on tiktok. but, after the midterm results, gen z are actually happy to be lumped in with millennials for once. 

everybody shut up its gen z's turn for millenial optimism

— Lajward Zahra (@LajwardZ) November 4, 2026

but how did we get here? how did the democrats bring wokeism back to america?

i have a masters in international relations and politics, and i've been studying american politics and history for over ten years. so, i do think i know a little bit about what's going on across the pond. and the answer to how the democrats managed to win over america? sabrina carpenter.

stay with me. i promise.

sabrina in feather
from vulture 2023

on halloween 2023, sabrina carpenter gave us the ultimate treat by dropping her music video to feather in which our pop diva slayed the church down boots in the blessed mary church in williamsburg. whilst i revelled in the cunty visuals that sabrina gave us, the catholic church in new york was not happy. the bishop of brooklyn released a statement on 2nd november, expressing how “appalled” he was that this was allowed to go ahead without the proper checks into filming on church grounds, which included reviews of what was to be filmed. as a result, the monsignor was suspended from his administrative duties and the diocese launched a further investigation into the monsignor's actions. 

so, what does sabrina and the catholic church have to do with the democrats? well, the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the music video led church officials to look more closely at the monsignor's administrative dealings. this uncovered financial arrangements with frank carone, who had previously served as nyc mayor eric adams' chief of staff and chaired his re-election campaign. by this point, adams had already been indicted in september 2024 on federal corruption charges. federal investigators subsequently subpoenaed the church for information about its dealings with carone, bringing the parish into the orbit of the wider investigation surrounding the mayor.

going into 2025, things weren't looking particularly good for adams, whose approval ratings had been declining and this didn’t help his upcoming campaign for re-election for new york city mayor. enter, zohran mamdani. 

mamdani announced he would be running for mayor in october 2024. i remember seeing his videos on twitter as the campaign was ramping up in 2025. he was young, charismatic, charming, and appealing to everyday-new yorkers as mamdani’s campaign focussed on making new york more affordable for new yorkers. at first, it seemed that andrew cuomo would be the democrats’ candidate for the election after adams announced he would run as independent, but mamdani managed to beat cuomo in june 2025 and come out on top as the primary democrat candidate. five weeks before the election, adams dropped out of the race, and on 4th november 2025, mamdani was elected as the new mayor of new york city. and what a job he has done so far.

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mamdani's victory became an important moment for progressive democrats, demonstrating that a campaign centred on affordability, grassroots organising and digital communication could attract significant support. his campaign also gave renewed visibility to democratic socialist politics within the wider democratic party. as such, mamdani’s rise can be seen as contributing to the democrats’ revival and “making progressive politics feel achievable again”. 

what i found particularly interesting about mamdani's campaign is how it blurred the lines between politics and internet culture, in true millennial fashion. his videos weren't just traditional campaign advertisements - they were designed to be shared and engaged with. mamdani became a recognisable personality beyond the usual political news cycle, with his campaign attracting attention from influencers, content creators and people who might not ordinarily follow local politics - why did i, along with many other people from around the world, care about mayoral elections in new york?

VPN set to New York, my mayor is Zohran Mamdani too

— D (@yekyakardiya) January 2, 2026

perhaps this is something that other democrats started to recognise - reaching voters today isn't just about having the right policies, but also understanding where people are having conversations about them. abdul el-sayed even made a minecraft video as part of his senator campaign!

I’m Abdul_ElSayed and I’m fighting for emeralds out of politics, emeralds in your inventory, and golden apples for all https://t.co/RnaJTeRUWd

— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) February 21, 2026

anyways, back to sabrina and the blue tsunami.

to tie it all together (tldr:), in 2023, sabrina carpenter filmed a music video in a catholic church in new york, prompting a dispute between the parish and the diocese over filming approval. in 2024, a wider investigation into the church's finances uncovered dealings with a former aide to eric adams, just as the mayor was facing a federal corruption investigation of his own. in 2025, zohran mamdani won the new york mayoral election, bringing renewed attention to progressive politics and a campaign style that could used to appeal to a broad electorate.  in 2026, the democrats won big in the midterm elections as the blue tsunami swept across the usa.

i’m sure there are plenty of other factors that have played an important part in the democrats’ victory but i’ve spent way too long fact-checking this butterfly effect, based on one tweet i saw: 

https://t.co/kufCMv0fZV

— han (@bitethehan) November 4, 2026

when the internet starts talking, i’ll always be listening and ready to connect the dots.

'til the next one,

laura x

why i love going out out

i want to start this post by apologising to all my friends for my behaviour over the weekend - constantly reminding you that this was the last time halloween would fall on a saturday until 2037 was not cool whatsoever. and honestly, i don't know why i let tiktok make me think this was more of a big deal than necessary. everyone knows going out on a friday is faaaarrrr more superior because you get two days to be hungover the rest of the weekend to enjoy. 

me at yootha, feeling the music obvs,
in april 2026 - pic by minabihi

for me, in my current phase of life, the only thing that makes going out in liverpool enjoyable on a saturday is sonic yootha, a monthly club night for "homos, fauxmos, gender-blenders & part-time Brendas." each time that i plan to go, i wait all month to get dressed up and let loose with my pals, and
just boogie all night. sometimes, i think i am getting a bit too old to be dancing until the wee hours of the morning but to my surprise, i make it to the end of yootha at 4am, and i think i am a better woman for it. not only do i usually go with the same friends monthly, but the crowd that go to yootha are usually the same crowd who go monthly, which i love. it still gives a sense of mystery of, "who am i going to meet tonight", but with a sense of familiarity and community - awww. 

now, i definitely do not have the financial resources or mental capacity to be going out out every weekend. but enjoying a casual pint with my pals on the weekend, saving my energy for a proper night out once a month, is a lifestyle i try to sustain and will continue to do for as long as i can. i love music, i love dancing, i love my friends and i love going out out! i love how alive and free i feel. i love how connected to the music i am and how dancing under a discoball brings me closer to my pals.

over the past few years, i have came to terms with how truly important music is in my life. after seeing lorde live in manchester in november 2025, i realised that i'd now seen all the artists i listened to as a teenager. it's made me realise how cathartic it can be to dance and to feel all those emotions i had when i first listened to ribs but also to appreciate that i have grown up with lorde and she is turning my emotions into absolutely beautiful music. i really feel the music and i do get a physical reaction. cliché, i know, but really, my brother mocked me a few months ago for getting goosebumps while watching a tiktok of calvin harris at a festival, but it reminded me of when i first started going out with my friends. never did i think i would have a reaction like this to calvin harris but it threw me right back to standing around in a kitchen with my friends at a party we had waited all week for, or when we would hear the same song a few years later during our first dances at nightclubs. 

or, it reminded me of getting ready to go out, which is also one of the best parts about going out in the first place. when i was younger, i used to spend all day waiting to start my makeup and press play on my pres choons playlist because i knew once i was done, the night was beginning. at first, getting ready by myself was okay, but i couldn't wait for the adulthood i was promised by all my favourite 2000s movies and tv shows - the thought of getting ready with friends, dancing around to our favourite tunes to get us pumped and just having all the best expectations for the night. this halloween, my housemate and i had that same excitement, with just the added element of whimsy with our costumes. 

i think this is why i love going out out and why i want to continue shaking my ass in the club for as long as i can. the ritual of getting ready, the anticipation of dancing all night, and feeling the music with my friends. there's something so special about experiencing the same emotional reaction to a song because we both listened to it to get over heartbreak, or because it gave us the confidence we needed before a night out. you don't get to dance in the same way at the pub, and i do love going to the pub too, but the intimacy of dancing in a club with someone who means so much to you is unmatched. platonic or romantic. 

i think about the times i go out with my friends and we end up on mathew street, where the crowd tends to be a little older than the students that frequent concert square. i don't know what's in my future and how my weekends will look later in my life, but i know that i can still go out for a boogie and feel alive with my friends, regardless of what age we are. we'll hear calvin harris in 30 years time and think about how excited we were to finish our a-levels and go out out to celebrate. 

that being said, i think the art of flirting in the pub or the club needs to be reclaimed again. but that's a thought for another day.

until then,
laura xxx

klein/11 - chronically online and collectively invested

where were you on the morning of october 23rd, 2026? 

i woke up in my tweenage bedroom, the morning after seeing j. cole with my siblings, cousin and my sister's boyfriend. as the alarm on my apple watch vibrated like an earthquake, i rolled over and grabbed my phone, opening twitter immediately as i do most mornings. i read my twitter feed in the morning like it's a newspaper, full of the freshest headlines to keep me informed of all the important things i missed whilst trying to achieve a green ring on my sleep app.

upon opening twitter on this particular friday morning, i see a tweet from a streamer that had me sitting bolt upright in bed, my mouth agape with what i was finding out…

DUDE WHAT ETHAN KLEIN HAS BEEN CHEATING ON HILA AND THAT'S WHY THERE'S A HIATUS??? IM 💀💀💀💀 https://t.co/WlLPATrA3I

— vio 🖤✨ (@viotubing) October 23, 2026

god bless the for you timeline, because i have never watched a stream from viotubing and i haven't actively watched any h3 videos/podcasts in god knows how long, but like i said in my inaugural post, my phone knows me better than i do and it knew exactly what i wanted to see when i opened my eyes at 10:31am. news of a break-up that had my timeline trawling through hours of podcast footage, looking at spotify playlists and keeping an eye on who's unfollowed who. 

what is it about public break-ups that have us dissecting the social media profiles of people who don't even know why we exist? 

jasmine weller for vice said that we enjoy the news of break-ups because it shows us that not everything is sunshine and roses. public break-ups can remind us that the relationships people share on social media aren't always as perfect as their posts make them out to be. having been on social media for way too long, i think i am a bit aware that we all curate our social media profiles to show all the best parts of our lives. it is a bit humanising to hear that everyone experiences heartbreak, no matter how much money or instagram followers you have.

daisy jones for british vogue wrote that "our preoccupation with the celeb break-up probably has much less to do with them, and a lot more to do with us," inviting us to look inwards after news of a break-up to question whether our own relationships will outlast the couples we idolise. but, i am not in a relationship so i am not too worried about whether or not my significant other will leave me.

what is it about an online couple breaking up that has me glued to my phone more than usual? 

there is a particular shift in conversation and speculation when internet personalities break up. they share waaaay more of their relationship with their audiences compared to "proper" a-list celebs (kylie and timmy, give me something please!!!) so it gives us more to analyse. we become investigators, looking at every piece of online evidence to understand what went wrong. i like to describe myself as a lover girl - i love love, and i don't feel particularly jubilant when i hear the news of a break-up, but also i really don't care for any of the parties involved in this current situation. so, why am i enjoying all the chatter and going on the h3 subreddit for the first time ever? 

at a time when we all are searching for community, a big online event such as this creates a shared experience for us to engage in. for me, the internet is my community, and events of this magnitude bring us together. especially when it's something that shook the timeline on a dramageddon scale. an event that immediately got its own nickname that will be referred back to online in months, even years, to come. 

where were you on klein/11

— tyler oakley (@tyleroakley) October 24, 2026

not only was my twitter timeline on fire with quips about klein/11, but instagram was cooking up some good memes and tiktok was providing me with all the visual recaps that i needed, because there was no way i could go back and catch up on several years worth of podcast videos. 

ultimately, this is why i care about actively engaging with internet events - everyone is talking about it and inviting others into the discussion. it makes me feel part of a collective conversation with people who have the same interest and understanding of what's going on, or are equally as chronically online as i am. i can get in on the jokes and keep up with the thrill of finding out new pieces of information. a community is formed, breaking us out of our own algorithms and connecting us together. 

one of my favourite youtube channels is Spill Sesh, who has been rounding up internet drama for me for years now. even though i don’t care for some of the new influencers who are getting cancelled, i still watch these videos and like to know what’s going on in the internet world. it means that if it comes across my feed, i have a vague idea of what's happening so i don't feel too out of the loop, but that i can jump into the conversation at any point and catch up. 

i've witnessed a lot of the modern online pop-culture events, and each time i am still amazed at how creative the internet can be for the sake of a meme or a joke, but also that it brings the internet together to comment collectively. after the hype dies down, we all go back to our own algorithms.

it's been a week since klein/11 and i am interested to see how this saga will conclude, since it has been a bit of a whirlwind, but until then, i'll keep refreshing my timeline, waiting for the next major tweet from popbase or popcrave, or some random user that i don't even follow.

the inaugural post

hello! 

welcome to my blog :) 

i have spent a lot of this year thinking about how there has been a lack of personalisation with social media, which is interesting since social media has only helped us broadcast our own lives and personalities more frequently than ever before. 

but, as we moved away from PCs and laptops, and spend more time scrolling on our for you pages, there has been a distinct lack of personality on our favourite social media apps - yes, i can add a song to my instagram page now, but i did that on my tumblr when instagram was in its infancy. yes, i have curated all my little apps to show me all the little things that i am interested in, but my "explore page" and "for you page" doesn't feel like my own little corner of the internet - it just feels like ai and big socials know more about myself than i do. and i spend a lot of time saving things that i would love to do, or getting inspired, but not actually doing anything - which probably says a lot more about myself and my affinity for procrastination but hey ho. 

actually what i looked like this time
last year when i got bangs

i used to code neopets pages and tumblr sites with my friends to truly show off my personality online. i started using the internet around in around 2008?? i think i got my first facebook account in 2009 (dont tell zuckerbrg even though he probably knows), but, i was too young for myspace and i think bebo was dying off anyways, but the internet i was introduced to allowed each user to have a space that was distinctly their own, and this is what i miss!! i loved going on to my friend's sites and seeing what songs they added to
their playlists, or what widgets they added for me to interact with. growing up watching ugly betty, confessions of a shopaholic and the devil wears prada, updating my own site felt like updating my own magazine - i actually used use my stardoll album as a magazine, which i just ended up going down a rabbit hole to try and log back in and found out i made my stardoll profile in november 2009. god, the good ol' days.

anyways, all this is to say, i miss having my own distinct site on the internet, and i have been thinking about blogging for a while to get my creative juices flowing, and also put my critical thinking and writing skills to work after doing a bachelors and a masters!! 

i hope that this blog becomes somewhere that you want to come and read about what i thought about the latest internet drama, or somewhere where i can just keep a digital record of thoughts i want to share - not a diary of sorts, as i still believe in the power of the private written word, but somewhere that i can larp as carrie bradshaw, and let you know my in-depth thoughts and analysis of the latest tiktok trends and how they actually stems from niche vine videos i used to repost. 

anyways. 'til the next one. 

laura x