Even before it was clear Democrats were on the verge of a historic victory Tuesday night, Antonio Caballero, of Bridgeport, had high hopes.
An immigrant from South America who grew up in New York, Caballero, 54, moved to Chicago after serving in the Marines. He cast his ballot hoping Democrats would take control of both chambers. After Operation Midway Blitz sent friends into hiding, rising gas prices and the war in Iran, he wanted the party to "really hold Trump accountable for all the craziness he has imposed upon the country."
Democrats now have that chance.
Voters in Illinois and across the country swept a wave of Democratic lawmakers into office on election night. Candidates flipped what were considered durably Republican seats in states like Texas and South Carolina in a clear rebuke of President Donald Trump's policies on immigration, the economy and the war in Iran.
Allen Nelson, also of Bridgeport, considers himself an independent. As he watched the results come in Tuesday night, he saw a referendum on President Trump as "really gratifying."
"I find myself just extremely dismayed and horrified at what's going on in Washington right now, which isn't unique to the Trump administration, but it's certainly a new low in my opinion," Nelson, 41, said.
Joanna Ruiz, of Little Village, spent most of Tuesday night following the election results. She felt “happy and refreshed” with how the midterms went and hopes for “a better government” that emphasizes human rights and holds those in power accountable.
“I’m really hoping for accountability,” Ruiz, 32, said. “That’s what we’ve been missing for the past two years."
Ruiz moved to Illinois from the Philippines in 2015 and moved to Chicago two years ago. She said Operation Midway Blitz played a role in the midterm results.
“We’re trying to protect our neighborhood," she said.
Not all voters shared the sense of jubilation among Democrats.
Sean Doheny, a lifelong conservative who voted for Trump twice, said he was disappointed by Tuesday’s election results. He said Democrats did not “represent the wishes of Americans.”
“Although I guess the election would tell you different,” he added.
Doheny, who lives in Beverly and voted Republican Tuesday, said Democrats blamed Trump for the war in Iran and rising costs, but he maintained the president was “the most popular thing in the Republican Party.”
He said he worries the newly elected senators and members of Congress could prevent Trump from doing “what needs to be done,” including addressing crime.
But conservative voter Terry McEldowney, who also voted for Republicans down his ballot, attributed the election results to what he called the “Trump tsunami,” saying the president was the reason so many voters turned out to support Democrats.
Trump "is so vain he can’t keep his mouth shut, and so people hate him,” said McEldowney, 80, of Oak Lawn.
It ultimately came down to people's growing frustration with the current administration.
“I was hoping for better, but I was not really surprised," he said.
Jeremy Swanson, 54, has lived in Edison Park for 11 years with his wife and two daughters. As someone who votes for Republicans locally but for Democrats in national contests, he believes that no party should be in power for too long.
Unlike McEldowney, he was amazed at the scale of the Democratic victories.
“I thought it was important that Democrats win," he said. "I didn't have any idea [they'd] win by that much.”
Meanwhile, voters on the West and South Sides felt joy mixed with cautious optimism.
At Peaches in Bronzeville, Gov. JB Pritzker greeted supporters the morning after securing a third term as Illinois governor.
Supporters who came out were elated, but stressed there is still work to be done.
“These [politicians] are going to at least talk together and try to find a common ground,” said Amy Williams, who has spent nearly five decades in the Chicago area. “If they don’t, this country isn’t gonna be here much longer.”
Williams, 72, had a clear message for President Donald Trump: “People have spoken, you better start listening.”
Kalvin Caldwell, 62, has been politically active for over 40 years but never saw a national election play out as it did Tuesday night.
“People came out, they showed out, they showed up,” said Caldwell, a lifelong Chicagoan who grew up on the West Side and now lives on the South Side.
Caldwell emphasized that the first two years of Trump’s second term, including large-scale immigration enforcement operations in Chicago and Minneapolis, played a role in the election’s outcome.
“I felt I didn’t know anything about the Constitution anymore and I consider myself a student of it,” Caldwell said of the political landscape over the last two years. “I've been to other countries, and knowing the political atmosphere is very important because it's life and death in a lot of different places.”
Caldwell took an active stance on what he thinks should come next.
“We got to hold the Democrats’ feet to the fire. … We need to show some attitude, we need to show some grit, and we need to get busy," he said.
