--- title: Exclusive: Voters of Color 'Driving Force' of Epic Blue Wave, Says Dem Memo description: In a memo obtained by TIME, top Democratic Party strategists say voters of color swinging back to Democrats proved pivotal to the Blue Tsunami canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/exclusive-democrats-memo-voters-of-color-blue-tsunami/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-11-04T21:53:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-11-04T23:16:46.967Z article:section: Politics og:title: Exclusive: How Voters of Color Were 'The Driving Force' of an Epic Blue Wave og:description: In a memo obtained by TIME, top Democratic Party strategists say voters of color swinging back to Democrats made all the difference og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/exclusive-democrats-memo-voters-of-color-blue-tsunami/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte92703f36f2ceedd/6aeb950462c306147f4b8747/GettyImages-2303490516.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2303490516.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Exclusive: How Voters of Color Were 'The Driving Force' of an Epic Blue Wave twitter:description: In a memo obtained by TIME, top Democratic Party strategists say voters of color swinging back to Democrats made all the difference twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte92703f36f2ceedd/6aeb950462c306147f4b8747/GettyImages-2303490516.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Exclusive: Voters of Color Were ‘Driving Force’ Behind Midterm Rout, Say Key Strategists > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=658db81a-d29f-4845-9c45-bed16aeeb1aa&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Twice a week | time.com/newsletters, September 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=658db81a-d29f-4845-9c45-bed16aeeb1aa&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Nov 4, 2026 9:53 PM UTC  upporters cheer as Gina Hinojosa is announced as the next governor of Texas at her watch party in Austin on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026\. () upporters cheer as Gina Hinojosa is announced as the next governor of Texas at her watch party in Austin on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026\. () Mikala Compton—The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Nov 4, 2026 9:53 PM UTC Listen 00:001.0x02:53 Narrated by TIME AI. Tuesday’s [Blue Wave](https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/what-democrats-midterm-gains-reveal-about-trump-s-voter-coalition/) was powered by voters of color. That’s a key takeaway strategists in both parties are clocking as they pore through the results. In a memo obtained exclusively by TIME on Wednesday and soon to circulate among the Democratic National Committee’s bigwigs, two of the Democratic Party’s veteran strategists argue that the [blowout](https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/democrats-power-midterms/) would not have been possible without that crucial realignment, one that has enormous consequences for 2028’s presidential field. “Hispanic and Black voters not only turned out at a massive rate, but also swung back towards Democrats in terms of support levels, relative to the 2024 presidential election,” Tom Bonier and Simon Rosenberg wrote in Wednesday’s memo. To be clear, every major demographic group shifted left in these midterms, offering a [stunning rebuke](https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/trump-lame-duck-era/) of President Donald Trump and his brand of the Republican Party. “The final popular vote margin for the House will take weeks to determine, but at this point Democrats are on track to have the largest popular vote margin in a midterm election since 1974,” Bonier and Rosenberg write. “Voters of color were the driving force behind the blue tsunami.” But the shift in voters of color proved pivotal in many cases. Hispanic voters had a 28-point move leftward from 2024’s presidential levels, according to a [New York _Times_ analysis](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/11/04/us/elections/midterms-swing-voters-democrats.html). Black voters moved nine points. Asian American voters? They moved 17 points. The party’s base “came home,” in the words of one Democratic strategist on Wednesday. “Back to normal” was the verdict of another. Hispanic voters proved particularly enthusiastic to cast their ballots. A Bonier-Rosenberg analysis of early-vote data showed Hispanic turnout easily surpassing 2022’s midterms, and potentially topping even the 2024 presidential numbers, before Election Day. This shift will have big implications for the candidates mulling presidential runs, but also for the party’s decision last year to rearrange its primary calendar. The DNC’s choice to elevate South Carolina’s presidential primary to lead-off position for 2028 drew some second-guessing from within the party. That decision now looks even more prescient, as it further empowers the true spine of the Democratic Party. A full 26% of South Carolina voters on Tuesday were voters of color, according to exit polls. That’s a far cry from Iowa and New Hampshire—the traditional starting pistols in the presidential race, where less than 10% were voters of color, per exit polls. Democrats spent much of this cycle courting voters of color they had lost in 2024 by arguing that Trump’s economy had left them behind. Tuesday’s results appeared to prove the wisdom of that effort,Bonier andRosenberg argue in their memo, pointing to [Texas](https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/what-just-happened-in-texas-changes-everything/)’ Webb County as a prime example. Comparing Trump’s 2024 tally with Sen.-elect James Talarico’s win, the Hispanic vote there swung a full 50 points away from Republicans. “To be clear, 50-point swings don’t happen on turnout alone. In fact, a huge component of this result was clearly due to Trump voters crossing over to support Democrats in this election,” the Democratic strategists wrote to other insiders. “Voters of color took a stand in this election, a stand to protect their future,” the memo reads. “Democrats now have the opportunity to deliver where Republicans have failed.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/exclusive-democrats-memo-voters-of-color-blue-tsunami/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/exclusive-democrats-memo-voters-of-color-blue-tsunami/"},"headline":"Exclusive: Voters of Color Were ‘Driving Force’ Behind Midterm Rout, Say Key Strategists","datePublished":"2026-11-04T21:53:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-11-04T23:16:46.967Z","description":"In a memo obtained by TIME, top Democratic Party strategists say voters of color swinging back to Democrats proved pivotal in many races,","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/exclusive-democrats-memo-voters-of-color-blue-tsunami/","keywords":["democrats"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte92703f36f2ceedd/6aeb950462c306147f4b8747/GettyImages-2303490516.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Philip Elliott","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte92703f36f2ceedd/6aeb950462c306147f4b8747/GettyImages-2303490516.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-2303490516.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Mikala Compton—The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/democrats/","name":"democrats"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/exclusive-democrats-memo-voters-of-color-blue-tsunami/","name":"Exclusive: Voters of Color Were ‘Driving Force’ Behind Midterm Rout, Say Key Strategists"}}]}] ```