Mark Y. A. Davies

A Most Consequential Year

2026, our 250th year as a nation, is the year we must save democracy in the United States. The electoral victory in November 2026 by the Democratic Party must be so decisive and overwhelming that it places real and binding limits on the fascists in our government. If American fascists are somehow able retain control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, it will allow for two more years of virtually unchecked power by this fascist regime and provide a more viable path for fascists to retain power in 2028 as they continue to seek ways to suppress voter participation and gerrymander their way to maintaining and expanding their power even if they are the minority of our population.

If Republicans lose one or both chambers of Congress by slim margins, there will still be no meaningful way to check the power of the Executive branch, especially given the control that fascists currently have over the Supreme Court of the United States. Only with large majorities in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives can Democrats be able to regain the levers of our system of checks and balances to hold fascists in the executive branch to account for their crimes against the people of the United States and their crimes against humanity.

It is imperative that Democrats maintain our focus on attaining a crushing victory over fascism in November. Anything that distracts from this focus increases the chances that fascism will continue to grow in power in the United States to the great peril of the entire world. We Democrats are a diverse bunch, and we hold many different views about how to create a flourishing, participatory, and just democratic republic. It is healthy for us to debate these diverse views in our primaries leading up to the general elections in November, but we cannot afford to let our desire for the perfect candidate become the enemy of bringing about the greater good. The greater good in 2026 demands that we do all we can to eradicate fascism from the halls of governmental power and then continue the work of eliminating fascism completely from our civic life.

It has always been a long shot that a country founded on white supremacy, colonialism, genocide, and slavery could overcome its systemic sins to become a sustainable and participatory multicultural democracy. After a quarter of a millineum, we have such a long way to go, but it is nevertheless critical that we keep striving for true liberty and justice for all. This cannot happen unless fascism is defeated decisively in our 2026 elections. We have work to do in the fierce urgency of now.

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Published by Mark Y. A. Davies

Mark Davies is the Wimberly Professor of Social and Ecological Ethics and Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility at Oklahoma City University. Mark serves as the Environmental Ethics Consultant for the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. He has published in the areas of Boston personalism, process philosophy and ethics, and ecological ethics. He serves on the United Methodist University Senate, which is “an elected body of professionals in higher education created by the General Conference to determine which schools, colleges, universities, and theological schools meet the criteria for listing as institutions affiliated with The United Methodist Church.” Mark and his wife Kristin live in Edmond, OK in the United States, and they have two daughters. The views expressed by the author in this blog do not necessarily represent the views of Oklahoma City University or the United Methodist Church.

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