Tuesday, 10 November 2026

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. 

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.




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?


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!


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: 


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

'til the next one,

laura x

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Tuesday, 3 November 2026

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

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