The happiest man in America today is Gavin Newsom. The second-happiest is Terry McAuliffe, because Newsom just proved that running vigorously against Trump and the extreme right still works in blue states in 2021.
Whether it will continue to work in 2022 remains to be seen. In the meantime, the Trump playbook—exploit procedural advantages, whip up the base, and whine about a rigged election—has fallen short again. Will the GOP learn anything from the experience? Don’t hold your breath.