Relief after a cautious election season
Therese Mager, vice chair of Democrats Abroad's Saxony chapter, arrived last at the small celebration in a private room of the café. "We feel great," she told MDR AKTUELL.
The group had been reluctant to expect a Democratic victory after the disappointment of Trump's last election win, Mager said. Yet she was not particularly surprised by the outcome, arguing that the current administration had made many poor decisions.
Mager attributed the result to anti-war sentiment and the poor economic situation. She saw disappointment among Trump voters and considerable fear among those who had not supported him.
Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats in the 2026 midterms, according to AP News. BBC reported wins in Republican strongholds including Texas, Ohio and Kansas. Kansas had last elected a Democratic senator almost 100 years ago.
The challenge of getting overseas ballots counted
For Rachel Dye, the celebration came with a personal disappointment: her vote had not been counted. Minnesota, her home state, requires a printed ballot to be returned by mail. She said she mailed hers a few days after receiving it by email, but an online check two weeks ago showed it had not arrived.
Dye regretted losing her vote, though it would not have changed the outcome. Traditionally Democratic Minnesota went to the party again, as expected.
Before the midterms, Democrats Abroad had urged overseas voters whose states require ballots to be mailed back, including Minnesota voters, to submit a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, or FWAB, as a backup. The organization said the backup is discarded if the official ballot also arrives by the deadline.
Helping Americans in Saxony navigate overseas voting is a central task for the local Democrats Abroad group. Its members intend to continue that work through the next presidential election.
Nationally, Democrats Abroad reported record overseas voter turnout for the 2026 midterms. It said use of VoteFromAbroad, its voter registration and ballot-request tool, was nearly double the 2022 midterm level, while usage among young voters rose 280%.
The organization said its volunteers made more than 240,000 phonebank calls and sent 185,000 texts during the election effort. They also helped more than 23,000 voters resolve ballot problems in the final three months, and the organization held nearly 4,000 events across 58 countries.
Staying in Germany, staying involved
Dye decided to pursue her dream of living in Europe after Trump's first election victory in 2016. Now 45, she feels too settled in Germany to return to the United States, even if Democrats regain power and despite her mother's wish that she come home.
She nevertheless intends to keep supporting the party. For those gathered in Leipzig, the midterm results restored hope lost after Trump's 2024 victory, but they did not see the gains as a reason to stop working.
