Democratic Party star Rahm Emanuel, the former White House Chief of Staff (Obama), U.S. Ambassador to Japan (Biden), Illinois Congressman and Mayor of Chicago, who may or may not run for President in 2028, continues to criticize President Trump and his administration. Over the weekend, Emanuel expressed a growing optimism over the potential downfall of the MAGA movement, which he believes is not, despite its name, in the process of making America great.
Emphasizing electoral results that many Democrats see as predictive, Emanuel wrote on Sunday: “Two special elections. Two legislative districts. Louisiana and Texas. Both were carried by Donald Trump by double digits in 2024. Both just swung more than 30 points towards the Democrats. To President Trump and the GOP — hear my pleas and my prayers: whatever you’re doing, please don’t change a thing. It’s clearly working.”
Two special elections. Two legislative districts. Louisiana and Texas.
Both were carried by Donald Trump by double digits in 2024.
Both just swung more than 30 points towards the Democrats.
To President Trump and the GOP — hear my pleas and my prayers: whatever you’re doing,…
— Rahm Emanuel (@RahmEmanuel) February 8, 2026
Note: In Texas, Taylor Rehmet, the U.S. Air Force veteran and local union leader who defeated Trump-endorsed MAGA candidate Leigh Wambsganss, will serve for the rest of the year and then run again against Wambsganss in the November election.
In Louisiana, Democrat Chastity Martinez defeated her Republican opponent Brad Daigle by 24 points. In this case, Martinez won a seat that was previously held by a Democrat in a district that has historically supported Democrats at the state and local level.
Still, Democrats are celebrating Martinez’s win as a game-changer because Trump won her district all three times he ran for president including in 2024, when Trump carried the district against former Vice President Kamala Harris by a 56‑43 margin.
Martinez’s victory is also seen as significant because she was “outspent 3-to-1” — a reason for Democratic optimism especially as billionaires like the MAGA-aligned Elon Musk promise deep financial support for Republican contenders in the upcoming midterms.
Emanuel’s recognition of a GOP strategy that isn’t delivering results was echoed by conservatives also, with even the Daily Caller‘s politics editor Anthony Infrate writing that he is “absolutely not denying that there is a considerable shift toward Dems in special/off-year elections (that is clear as day).”
I am absolutely not denying that there is a considerable shift toward Dems in special/off-year elections (that is clear as day)
BUT this district was not a GOP gain, it was a Dem hold (yes, despite it being a double digit Trump seat it was always represented by a Dem) and seems…
— Anthony Iafrate (@tonyiafratedc) February 8, 2026