The evening of Nov. 3, a blue wave swept across the country. Districts across the United States voted strongly for Democrats, resulting in a party majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the first time in 16 years.
In Chicago on Election Day, La Shawn Ford was voted the next congressman for Illinois’ 7th district. Ford and hundreds of his supporters celebrated the win at XS Tennis Village on Chicago’s South Side.
The following afternoon, Ford told Austin Weekly News that, while a Democratic majority in Congress could be beneficial for passing “more meaningful” legislation, it will all depend on how legislators vote.
“I’ve seen it in the state legislature. I know what we can do with an advantage in the House and Senate that’s so big,” Ford, the current state representative of the 8th district, said.
The advantage might be big enough to account for legislators who don’t always vote with their party.
“It gives us a lot of room to have more Democrats vote, because even when you have a majority, you always have those conservative Democrats that can vote like Republicans,” Ford said while hoarse from crying, laughing and sharing his gratitude throughout the night prior.
“We should have some numbers that will allow us to get some stuff done in Congress with such a wide margin,” he added. “And we have to have some Democrats that should be able to take votes for the American people.”
Come January when new legislators are sworn into office, Ford said there will be the opportunity to follow the Democratic legislative model that Illinois has set.
“This majority in the House and Senate gives us an opportunity to do big things like we’ve done in Illinois, and I believe Illinois has done big stuff,” Ford said. “When you think about how we’ve been able to protect civil rights, voter rights, and LGBTQ+ rights, for women and healthcare — it’s because we are a strong Democrat state.”
Ford says Congress should now have the numbers to approve Medicare for all and reinstate the Voters Rights Act, which was gutted by the Supreme Court in April.
But one of the first things Ford said the House and Senate need to tackle next year is getting Trump to stop funding international wars.
“That takes a lot of revenue. If we want to do healthcare, but we’re funding war, that’s a problem,” Ford said.
Though challenges await him in Washington D.C., Ford said he’s excited to undertake the responsibility of being the next 7th district congressman — following Cong. Danny Davis’ near-30-year tenure.
“I was at a loss for words, given that I’m able to take the torch from Cong. Davis and to see how happy he was,” Ford said of how overwhelmed with gratitude he was the previous night. “He was so happy. I don’t think people know the level of pride and happiness that he has.”
But even on an evening of celebration, Ford was looking to what’s coming next.
“It’s hard to make those big campaign and victory night speeches when you know what’s ahead of you,” he said. “What makes it even more difficult is me knowing government and how things work. There’s so much work that has to be done, and it’s a lot of hard work, and it’s going to take a lot of fights to get it done.”