But this win will actually embolden Democrats across the country to double down on those policies because the Democrats are really bad about divining the meaning behind their victories. They see their electoral wins as mandates from the voters when, more often than not, the voters are merely tired of some of the extremes the Republicans are offering (an endless war, a reality star mean girl president, etc.). To be fair, Republicans are just as bad, interpreting voters seeking more moderation from the far-left Democrats the wrong way.

Democrats will see Newsom’s win as a sign that the people really are okay with being told to mask after getting vaccinated. They will think Americans want more government mandates on everything from vaccines to indoor seating limitations. All of this will come as the images from the Met Gala — where Democrats ate $35,000 meals, glad-handed the rich and influential while wearing expensive political activism in the form of gowns, and stood unmasked as the help surrounding them were masked — are still fresh in the American voters’ minds.

At this point, like Elder, the Democrats are buying into the media’s hype. They think that this win means the race was really a conservative effort to dethrone one of them when, in reality, the problem was voter dissatisfaction with Newsom’s constant hypocrisy toward his own mandates.