Thursday, November 5, 2026 Today, a Democratic rout sweeps both houses of Congress in a history-making midterm election; Republicans spent $200M attacking trans people and lost everything; MAGA redistricting backfired in multiple states; Mike Johnson is calling it quits - he won’t run for minority leader; Elon Musk threw his fortune at the midterms but voters handed him a stunning defeat; Georgia has elected its first out trans and non-binary state lawmaker; the new Congress is putting Homeland Security on notice; the man in charge of steering House Republicans to victory — Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee — is on track to lose his own seat; Democrats clinch a majority of governorships for the first time in 16 years and gain full control of five state governments; Democrats have won enough states to end the electoral college; It Gets Better grant recipients have created spaces for queer students to feel safe and welcomed in experiencing STEM education; plus Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
Thursday, November 5, 2026
Today, a Democratic rout sweeps both houses of Congress in a history-making midterm election; Republicans spent $200M attacking trans people and lost everything; MAGA redistricting backfired in multiple states; Mike Johnson is calling it quits - he won’t run for minority leader; Elon Musk threw his fortune at the midterms but voters handed him a stunning defeat; Georgia has elected its first out trans and non-binary state lawmaker; the new Congress is putting Homeland Security on notice; the man in charge of steering House Republicans to victory — Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee — is on track to lose his own seat; Democrats clinch a majority of governorships for the first time in 16 years and gain full control of five state governments; Democrats have won enough states to end the electoral college; It Gets Better grant recipients have created spaces for queer students to feel safe and welcomed in experiencing STEM education; plus Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
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msw media. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. Today, a Democratic rout sweeps both houses in Congress in a history making midterm election. Republicans spent $200 million attacking trans people and lost everything. MAGA redistricting backfired in multiple states. Mike Johnson is calling it quits. He won't run for minority leader. Elon Musk threw his fortune at the midterms, but voters handed him a stunning defeat. Georgia has elected its first out trans and non binary state lawmakers. The new Congress is putting Homeland security on notice. The man in charge of steering the House Republicans to victory, Representative Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is on track to lose his own seat. Democrats clinch a majority of governorships for the first time in 16 years and gain full control of five state governments. Democrats have won enough states to end the electoral college. And it gets better. Grant recipients have created spaces for queer students to feel safe and welcomed to in experiencing STEM education. I'm Allison Gill.
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
So that seems like a lot, but that's not like 1/100th of everything that happened last night.
I mean, Allison, listen, we were texting, you were at the party. I was so bummed, not to be there. But I gotta be honest with you, like, watch parties for a while have really sort of given me anxiety because of everything just gone fucking left, you know, while we've gone south, while we're watching. And so, I mean, I wish I'd been, I would have been there head on up in, in New York feeling well, obviously, but holy shit,
we had so much fun. We're going to show you some of the clips and videos over on Beans Talk today. But like, it was so much winning that I couldn't keep up with all the announcements.
I couldn't either every time. And listen, we thought this was going to take a really long time. Like we were like, we're not really going to know if we have the House until January. And then all of these. It was one of those times that, you know, places that go so red they call them right when the polls close. We got some of those when the polls closed. But they were like, we're calling this for the Democrat. Yes.
Yeah. Jon Ossoff was announced in five minutes.
it was so beautiful every time one came in. And I'm not gonna lie, I stayed awake just long enough to know that we neutered Fetterman.
Yeah, yeah. And we were even up a little bit beyond that. And we're gonna go over everything as much as we can. I mean, every story today is a good news story. We've earned it.
Yeah. And,
frankly, I could keep talking about last night's results for the next two years, and there will be a lot to unpack in the. In the coming weeks, months and years because the stories aren't over and won't be over. But like I said, we'll do our best to wrap up the main points today for you, but just an incredible night.
Yeah, absolutely. And our guest, the interview today. I'm so excited. Tell the people so they stay and listen, please.
Yes. We're gonna talk to Alex and Xander. So, as you know, we've been donating, you know, my veterans benefits and the Daily Beans has been don eating to organizations that this administration puts in harm's way. Like, It Gets Better. And one of the It Gets Better grant recipients that you guys funded, that listeners of this show funded, helped these two young leaders create and run Rainbow Robotics, which is a project that creates spaces for queer students to feel safe and welcomed when they want to get into STEM science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
That's incredible. That's so good. They're wonderful. Both of them are fantastic.
Yeah. And you, the Daily Beans listeners, you helped us fund that grant for It Gets Better. But before we speak to those incredible young people, let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up, from the Associated press. Yes, the 2026 midterms will be remembered for the astonishing number of losses that Democrats handed to President Donald Trump. By 10:00pm Eastern, Democrats flipped the House, and by 11:35, we flipped the Senate. I didn't think we would know until the next morning.
I know. Same.
And the winds just kept coming one after the other. It was like literally a blue wave. We needed to flip four Senate seats. Five if you count overcoming Fetterman. And as of this recording, we flipped seven. We flipped North Carolina, Texas, Iowa, Maine, Kansas, Ohio, South Carolina. And Dana, we're on track to flip Alaska and Mississippi.
Mississippi. I'm telling you, if you don't think your vote counts, it counts.
Yeah. And a new vote dump came in for Colomb. So now he's up by 1,883. But he was only up by 27 and then 65.
Oh, my God.
So pretty close. I didn't
know about the new vote count. That's awesome.
It just happened as we're recording.
Amazing.
I've got like, I still have my election hub, like things all on and flick flashing me results. We might have 56 seats in the Senate and in the House. I thought we'd end up with 242. I thought we'd end up with 52 in the Senate. We got 56, maybe 50. We definitely have 54, maybe 56. When we get, we hear about Mississippi and Alaska and I thought we'd have 242 seats in the House. As of this recording, we have 249 and we're on track to get 261.
Oh my God.
That would be a net of 43. And remember when I said we had a, shorter distance to make up than 2018, so a blue wave would be about 25 seats. So 43, that's a tsunami, that's an earthquake. And no one can deny it, not even James Carville. But in the background, something perhaps equally seismic unfolded. A wave of firsts that elevated into high office members of groups that had until now been kept largely in the margins. Democrat Deb Haaland reveled in her history making moment of becoming the first native American female governor in U.S. history. Holland was declared the winner over Republican Greg Hull, former mayor to lead New Mexico. That's your home state.
Yes, indeed. I'm so proud of her.
And Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan has become the first Native American female U.S. senator helping Democrats win back the Senate. A citizen of the white earth band Ojibwe. I think I'm saying that properly. Let me know if I'm not. Flanagan defeated Republican Michelle Tafoya, former NFL sideline reporter.
I can't. I
know. There's two resumes right there. And just as one sentence resumes are pretty incredible.
Yeah,
we got Mary Peltola who's u bic and a Democrat and could become the First Alaska Native U.S. senator votes in her race to unseat Republican and incumbent. One of the Dan Sullivans are still being tabul Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms. This was
to the yes, Georgia
biggest cheer of the night. She was declared the winner Tuesday in the Georgia governor's race, ending 250 years of United States history without a black woman elected as a state's governor.
Yes. Unbelievable.
The former Atlanta mayor was running against Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman. Of course, quote, she said tonight should remind us all that no matter what community we come from, Georgia is not defined by one mom in time or by one person. That's what she told her euphoric supporters and went on to say, it's been defined by all of us and I will be a governor for everyone in this state. Abdul Al Said will become the first Muslim American to serve in the United States Senate. That was a really hateful and bigoted race and he overcame all of it.
Yeah, it was
very contentious. Race to be Michigan's next senator was called early Wednesday morning. Democratic Representative Chris Pappas won his U.S. senate race in New Hampshire and will become the country's first openly gay male senator. Openly is the keyword. He defeated former US Senator John Sununu, a very, very famous and popular Republican who previously served in both chambers of Congress.
Amazing.
The midterm has been a record breaker for women vying for state and federal offices. Democrats increased their 2022 number of women candidates to 19 running for governor. And nearly 300 women, including incumbents, were running for the U.S. senate and the House, as documented by Rutgers center for American Women in Politics.
Amazing. Amazing. And I'm so happy to report these next numbers. This is from the 19th. Six transgender and non binary candidates made history on election Day by winning races in states. Yep. That have never, ever elected a trans person into their legislature before. These candidates, they are going to expand LGBTQ political power at a time when their rights, Their rights are increasingly under attack nationwide. That means seats at the fucking table, people. That's what that means. They're part of the conversations now. As they should be. Bentley Hudgens, Amazing, by the way, will be Georgia's first non binary and first Japanese American lawmaker after winning their bid to represent State House District 90 in east Atlanta. By the way, they easily defeated their opponent, Republican Samantha Boston, in a deep blue district. We've got Joanna Whaley, a hospital chaplain. Joanna's going to be the first trans person elected to Michigan state legislature after winning her race for House District 2. Outside Detroit, a former mega church pastor who has spoken openly about surviving years of conversion therapy as a young adult, Whaley, acknowledged after winning her primary in August that her victory was, and I quote, a defining moment for state history, but added that her campaign has never been about history. She handedly defeated. Her opponent was Republican ron Kokinda with 63% of the vote. I know we've got Alison Montgomery. And this is, this might be one of my favorite ones. Alison is going to be Alabama's first trans lawmaker. Alabama, everyone. First trans lawmaker. After winning her bid for State House District 25, defeating incumbent Republican Rep. Philip Rigsby, a software engineer and lifelong Alabamian, Montgomery ran on broadening access to health care, strengthening workers rights, and eliminating the state's grocery tax. That's what people care about. We've got Jaylene Scott, who's going to be Washington's first trans state lawmaker and the first out black trans state lawmaker elected in the country. After winning her bid for State House District 37 in southeast Seattle, she easily defeated her opponent, independent Evan McCorkle, happens to be a college student. She won by 88% of the vote. Our dear friend, Dina Nina Martinez Rutherford, who we love, will be the first trans person elected to the Wisconsin state legislature after winning her race for State House District 76. One of my favorite things about Dean Nanina, she wanted to be out of politics and literally, I think, took herself alpha ballot. And then the people elected her in the election and they were like, we want you there. So she had to have a gut check moment. Was like, okay, well, I guess that's where I'm supposed to be now. She's. And won again.
Yeah.
She defeated her opponent, Republican Nina Chat, with more than 90% of the vote in the very deep blue district.
I love Dina Nina. We've had her on the show several times. So, congratulations.
She's fantastic. And, and by the way, standup comic. That's how she started. Yeah. Before she became a politician. Hysterical standup comic. And in a hyperlocal race that still breaks national barriers, Quinny Perez is projected to win her seat on the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District. This is why voting down ballot matters. This humble board, it lacks a budget, has little power. But Perez winning the position in seat one makes her the first trans woman ever elected in Florida. Now, Florida, as we know fucking bit it. Because they could have. And you know what, And I know we might get into this somewhere else. Part of it is the. I don't know if it was the dnc. They did not put money in these races because they did not think they could win. And had they put money in,
the DNC did. But Schumer didn't. And Jeffries put anything in. Angie Nixon.
Yeah,
and Jolly could
have won.
She only lost by a point and a half or two. I think maybe somewhere between two and three. But it was so close. It
was a lot closer
than I thought it was going to be. But I will say this hearing, like Hakeem Jeffries say, you know, we're not interested in getting even. I'm like, yeah, we are. Yes. Can we please impeach people and investigate people? And I don't want to have a let's look forward and work together kind of an attitude going forward. We'll see what ends up happening. But I think they really dropped the ball when it, when it came to Angie Nixon and Abdul Al Sayed.
Yeah. And I very much, since we're just touching on it, I want to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. I think we have an opportunity right now with Democrats in power if they can do their fucking job. Because what's going to happen is some of these states that we'll get to, we now own everything. You know what I mean? Like we have a super majority in five of these states. I believe if you can show the people of these states that are normally Republican that their lives have gotten better over the next two years, there's a better chance of winning the presidency. And with the presidency comes the Department of Justice. That's,
that's when we get the, when we put
people away. So I do want there to be be investigations, but I want the Democrats to focus on the things they ran on. Fix this for the American people. Show the other people that maybe didn't vote for them that you are also their elected officials and you're going to fight for them. Make this country fucking better for everyone. So the next presidential election, it's a landslide because they're going to be like, wait a minute, the Democrats were in power and my life is better.
Yeah, I agree 100%. We have a really good opportunity to do that too. Also along those lines, what you were talking about, Aaron Reed, Aaron in the Morning on Substack reminds us that Republicans and their allies spent nearly $200 million on anti transgender ads alone, bankrolled in part by billionaires like Elon Musk. And virtually every Democrat in a highly contested race was the target of those kinds of ads. And what did it buy the Republican Party? An earth shattering loss and a stunning rebuke of anti transgender politics. She writes that a blue Texas in the face of the biggest anti trans ad spend of any race this cycle. A victory in Michigan from a Democratic candidate for US Senate who forcefully defended trans people at every step in the race. A western Montana smoke jumper who will go to Congress after telling voters the government has no business sticking its nose into our personal lives when it comes to transgender health care and sports. And an Alabama trans Democrat who won her race running on bread and butter issues in a conservative district in the Huntsville suburbs. These are just a small handful of the dozens of races we will remember as proof that anti trans politics simply no longer works for the Republican Party and that Democrats need never fear such attacks again. And I just want to add Kansas Hamilton defending trans rights In Kansas.
Yep.
And he won in Kansas. The Democrats,
not just defending them as some guy defending them in the name of religion.
Yes. Mm,
Beautiful thing. A beautiful thing. All right, the stories from the Post. This guy's not a beautiful thing. In the closing days of the midterm elections, Elon Musk, the largest individual political donor in modern American history, lobbed increasingly alarmist Barbs about Texas U.S. senate candidate James Talarico. Musk, who happens to be a Texas resident, said the Democrats sought to, and I quote, open the borders and abolish democracy. Talarico, he said, will vote to trans your kids. That's not a thing, Elon Musk. But Texas voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected that messaging, electing to send Telorico to U.S. senate by over a million votes. Everybody, and I quote, we just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas. That's what Talarico declared in a victory speech, singling out Musk. We just sent a message to every billionaire megadonor, every trillionaire mega donor. The win was part of a wave, as we know, of Democratic victories that saw the party retake Congress, effectively neutralizing Musk's massive political war chest and dealing the world's richest man stunning defeats.
Yeah, and by the way, I just got, a notification. James Talarico says that he would vote to abolish the filibuster. He says, quote, I believe that the majority has the right to govern in this country.
Well, there you go.
That's going to come in handy in about two more stories. But first, let's talk about the dummy mandering.
This
is from npr. Among the sweeping victories by Democrats on Tuesday were wins in several congressional districts that Republicans had redrawn explicitly to boost their party ahead of the midterms. This is so fantastic. I posted about this early on in the night. Sex is cool. But have you tried watching Republicans lose in districts they gerrymandered? That was the post over on, Blue Sky. But to continue this story, Republicans were bracing for some losses this election cycle. So last year, Trump decided to urge the party to take the extraordinary step of engaging in mid decade redistricting efforts. As of Tuesday night, many of those efforts failed. That included Florida, where multiple Democrats. I say all four, but they're saying three here. Kathy Castor, Pia Dundia and Jared Moskowitz. One in redrawn districts, according to races called by the Associated Press. The fourth is a guy named Soto. And it's. He's ahead, but it's so close, right?
So close.
That's all four gerrymandered Florida districts. All four. And in North Carolina, Don Davis held onto the first district seat even though Republicans in the state redrew it to be more competitive for the GOP. Trump would have won the redrawn first by nearly 12 percentage points. That's the mid the margins were winning by
the repudiation was just glorious.
Now Trump would have won by even more in Alabama's redrawn 2nd congressional district, which Democratic Rep. Shamari figures actually held onto according to an Associated Press race call.
And by the way Allison, according to the Texas Tribune, the Republican redistricting backfired there. And I told you, and I love this. I love the beans. Listeners, listen, I've been screaming this from the rooftops for months. GOP candidates lost four of five seats their new congressional map was designed to flip. And lost two of their own. That means. I know, what did I tell you? They watered down red districts they thought were going to be safe and they weren't. That means Texas Republicans will head to Washington in January with 24 U.S. house seats, one less than what they had at the start of the current Congress when the state legislature in Austin pursued the controversial mid decade gerrymander. Republicans had hoped for a 30 to 8 split in the delegation, but instead we're ending up with a 24 to 14.
Imagine if they hadn't redistricted.
I know in South Texas, moderate Democrat reps, we got Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen both won reelection surviving the redraw and put more Trump voters in their districts. Republicans also lost ground in the lone Rio Grande Valley district that they already held as Tejano musician Bobby Pulido.
Yes,
I know. Ousted two term Rep. Monica De La Cruz, the Republican Edinburgh. Now Democrats picked up another seat with Katie Padilla Stout's win over YouTuber and gun rights activist Brandon Herrera. Not that there's anything wrong with YouTubers, just this one. In this 23rd congressional district, which is by the way a sprawling seat covering San Antonio to the outskirts of El Paso. That was the goose stepping guy that called kids cum trophies.
That was that guy.
That was that fucking guy.
Oh wow.
Democrats held fast to districts elsewhere despite their incumbents being displaced due to the redraw. In the San Antonio area we got Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy Johnny Garcia beat Republican Carlos De La Cruz, the brother of Monica De La Cruz. So that family didn't do well last night in the newly crafted 35th congressional district. And by the way, a target that Trump carried by 10 points. In Houston, the grassroots campaign of Democrat Leticia Gutierrez topped Army veteran and former investment banker Alex Mueller, despite being vastly outspent in a district that Trump won by 20 percentage points two years ago. These swings are massive.
Yeah, yeah, it's what you've been saying. And I remember saying, oh, that's cute, Republicans, that you're celebrating that you redrew five seats here and two seats there because
we're
going to win 40 seats.
And we did.
And get this. Democrats clinched a majority of governorships for the first time in 16 years. And according to TNR, with Democratic victories in state legislatures and governorships across the country, the Electoral College could now be in jeopardy, even without a near impossible constitutional amendment. Check this out. If passed by enough states, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would effectively nullify the Electoral College and with it, the possibility of a candidate being elected president without winning the popular vote. Since the compact was introduced in 2006, 19 states have passed it, agreeing to assign their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the national popular vote. That amounts to 222 of the 270 electoral votes that a candidate needs to win the presidential election. But on Tuesday, Democrats took control of state legislatures and governorships in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada, all states that have not yet agreed to the compact. And if all five join the compact, the total number of electoral votes apportioned based on the national popular vote jumps to 283. Now, that all depends on whether Democrats in these states think that the compact is a priority. Democrats in Michigan failed to pass the compact when they held a trifecta from 2023 to 2024. And Nevada's Democratic governor vetoed the compact in 2019, saying that it would hurt the state's role in presidential elections. There are also potential constitutional issues, though. In Article 2, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 3, the Constitution says the states can appoint electors in such a manner as the legislature thereof, may direct. But in Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3, it also prohibits interstate compacts without the consent of Congress. But guess what? We just won.
Now, if the compact comes to a vote in the House and the Senate, it wouldn't need the President's signature. But Democrats still don't have a filibuster proof majority of 60 votes in the Senate. And with their dwindling national unpopularity, Republicans would undoubtedly try to block nullifying the Electoral College. It's the only way they can win. But the Senate could pass a rule nullifying the filibuster for electoral issues. And as we just heard, James Talarico's all for it.
Yeah.
So I don't know, this might be something we can start making calls about.
We will see. We will see. There's so much energy. The Dems took control of five state governments. This is from NBC. The party won. So called trifectas is what we call them. And basically that means taking the governor's office and both legislative chambers. And as you said in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. This is all according to the apartment. Democrats could still gain another trifecta in Arizona, where they haven't held full control of state government in 60 years. State party leaders said that they were on track to win both legislative chambers, though the AP has yet to project partisan control of either. Democratic Gov. Kitty Hobbs, meanwhile, won reelection, which was beautiful. Democrats also broke, and this is so important, broke up Republican trifectas. In Texas, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, as we know, defeated governor Greg Abbott, becoming the first Democratic governor to lead the state since 1995. Republicans had enjoyed complete control, complete control over the state government since 2003. Do you realize how much better they can make Texas? The school system, the healthcare, everything if they do their job right now? And Texans will really be like, oh my God, it was the Republicans. Now in Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms won the race for governor, flipping the office blue for the first time in 24 years, while Democrats made major gains in the state house. In addition, Democratic gubernatorial victories in Iowa and Ohio broke up the total GOP control of state government there. And I'm gonna say this, the Ohio governor's race, that call was one of my favorite ones.
Vivek
Ramaswamy, you can crawl back under the fucking rock you crawled out of cause you're a dis. Disgusting human being. Disgusting human
being.
Democrats also flipped control of the North Carolina state house for the first time in 16 years. That's what the AP projected, while narrowly falling short, as we know of majority in the state Senate. While elsewhere, Democrats said that they made enough legislative seat gains to break Republican super majorities. You ready for this? In chambers in South Carolina, Florida, which is very important, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio. That means those states and those governors can't just rule the way they want to rule and have no checks and balances. Those super majorities have been broken.
Amazing. And we're already getting a glimpse into what the new Congress might do. This is from Project Saltbox, our friends over there. Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress and as a result, that will give the party, the committees that oversee the Department of Homeland Security when the new Congress convenes in January. CNN Projected shortly after 10pm Eastern time, Democrats would win the House. And the network called the Senate. As I said earlier in the show, at 11:35 Eastern and within hours, Democrats on the. Within hours, Dana. Democrats on House Homeland Security posted a message on Twitter to Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullen, the Secretary Marquis.
Huh?
That said, clear your calendar.
Oh, boy.
Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire Hassan began recruiting investigators for the Senate Homeland Security. If anyone's looking for a job, she's recruiting investigators for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for the day after the election. This is to drag ICE in front of these tribunals, these congressional hearings. Ms. Hassan, a Democrat and longtime member of the committee, is in line to lead it when the new Congress convenes. And, a posting on the Senate employment site Dana seeks investigators and oversight counsel who can lead investigations, work through large volumes of documents and data, and turn their findings into reports, hearings and public releases. The posting refers only to the committee's incoming chair and does not name Senator Hassan. Applications go to an email address that identifies the sender as the new England Democratic Senator. Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, has led the committee since January of 2025. But bye bye now. the office is looking for people who have run complex investigations as congressional staff members, lawyers, journalists, law enforcement officers, or data analysts. A law degree is helpful, but not required. Applicants must send a resume. Did you hear that, Katie Zacharia? You might have a. You don't need a law degree. Applicants must send a resume, a writing sample, and a cover letter that describes one investigation, including the records they used and how they obtained them. Applications are due by the end of Thursday, November 12, and are reviewed as they arrive. Jack Smith, please inquire within.
Jack Smith to the front, please. Jack Smith. And from NBC. A day after Democrats captured the House majority, Speaker Mike Johnson, the Republican from Louisiana, told his staff Wednesday morning he will not stay on as a Republican leader in the new Congress, according to
four sources on the
phone call.
Yep,
He announced. That announcement followed massive losses for his party in House races on Tuesday. Johnson's departure is gonna leave open the position of House Minority Leader. Republicans are scheduled to hold an internal election to select their candidate for the position November 10th. I would love to see who's gonna put their name in for that because what a fucking mess. Not it. There's gonna be a lot of not it,
right? Like what did the Republican Party look like? We just destroyed Them. We dismantled the maga, which was the core, which had burrowed into and become the parasitic core of the Republican Party. So what does the Republican Party look like now? Who is the Republican Party? It's not Trump. It's certainly not J.D. vance, JV dance. So, like, Jim Jordan.
Oh, God, I forgot, like. So, therapy. Are they going to
revert back to their, you know, their kind of weird haircut, no tie, Trey Gowdy kind of yelly thing? Like what? Like, what's it gonna look like?
I don't know.
It can't look maga. They have to know that, right?
Yeah,
well, I don't care.
I mean, I just have to say, and this is just the last thing. Cause we don't know what's gonna happen at this moment that we're recording this. Lauren Boebert is losing. I just. It's not by a lot. It's only by 2 percentage points, but it's also by like 10. Where are we at? Like, whatever it is, she's losing right now. She did this to us last time and she still kept her fucking seat. So I'm not getting too excited about it. But right now, as we record this, Lauren Boebert is behind. And I know we need to, We're not supposed to curse that close to an interview, so we're just gonna riff. What you got, Allison?
well, she's losing, right? That Virginia Fox lady lost her seat.
Yep.
You know. Shut up. That lady. Scott Perry, insurrectionist seditionist extraordinaire.
Yep.
He lost his seat.
I think
that's amazing. The come Trophies guy. He's gone. You didn't win.
Yeah, when we started recording, as you said, Stott, Colomb. He's up now, BY not just 64, but over 1200 votes over Cindy Hyde Smith, which would just be glorious. Glorious.
It would be great to get rid of her Sparts Lost in Indiana, a very red district.
We could talk about this. We're going to talk about it for two years, everybody. We're going to talk
about
it for. Strap in. Here we go.
Instead, we're going to talk to Alex and Xander, incredible kids who got a, grant from It Gets Better. To run something called Rainbow Robotics. And that was to make STEM spaces, Science, technology, engineering and math spaces, more inclusive and we have more representative from the LGBTQ community. So we'll talk to them right after this break. Stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. Will be right back. Hey, everybody. Fall comes faster than you expect. And I always find myself needing to upgrade my wardrobe. But luckily I have a personal shopper from Daily Look. So if getting dressed feels harder than it should, it's time for our sponsor Daily look, the number one highest rated premium personal styling service for women. And for 50% off your first order, head to DailyLook.com and use Daily Code Daily Beans. Now, one of the best benefits of having someone who actually knows what you're looking for, knows what fits you, and knows what you'll love is that your stylist is a real human being. That's incredible. It's not some AI algorithm. And they curate around your body shape and your price points and preferences and lifestyle. It's fantastic. So you start out by filling out their style quiz and then they send you 12 hand selected items. You keep your favorites and send the rest back with free shipping both ways. It saves time, effort and money. And they have sizes that run from extra small to Triple X and 0 to 24. And let's be honest, it's like giving yourself a gift every month. Deliveries from Daily look are like opening presents every time. And I love that I can do that for myself. The last delivery came with a delightful jacket that went perfectly with a sweater that I already had in my closet. Daily look just gets me. So it's time to get your own personal stylist. With Daily look, head to DailyLook.com, take your style quiz and use code DailyBeans for 50% off your first order. Once again, that's DailyLook.com for 50% off. And make sure you use our promo code DailyBeans so they know we sent you one last time. DailyLook.com promo code DailyBeans. Hey everybody, welcome back. Now, as LGBTQ Nation writes, STEM, which is science, technology, engineering and mathematics, can be a hostile place for queer kids. But Rainbow Robotics is changing that. Rainbow Robotics is a student led initiative funded by a grant from It Gets Better. And as you know, I've been donating my veterans benefits to communities that this administration puts in harm's way. And you, our listeners, not only matched our donation from the Daily Beans to It Gets Better, you tripled it.
Yes.
So today we're joined by Gio and Xander, the leaders of Rainbow Robotics, a program that brings STEM opportunities to queer spaces and teaches inclusion and acceptance. Please welcome Gio and Xander. Hi.
Hello.
Hello. How are you both on this fine day?
Doing pretty well. Good.
Got
Kyle's school because I was feeling a little sick this morning, so
I think there's something going around. Xander, I am still recovering from it. So I woke up this morning sounding like my Uncle Murray, Good morning. Like, you know, you forget that you don't talk to someone, and then all of a sudden you say something and you're like, whose voice was that?
Exactly?
We are so happy to have you both with us, so thank you for taking the time. And we sort of want to just jump into it. And I. I'm really curious about what your experience was like in STEM before you were able to do these projects and just what motivated you to create this new queer space in stem. That's. That's what I'm really curious about. And either of you can answer that or both.
Yes, sure. So, the whole reason I founded Rainbow Robotics in the first place was because of very personal experiences to me my freshman year in high school. Like, STEM has always been a really important part of my life. I started STEM camps when I was, you know, six, and my dad's an engineer, so I. I've always been sort of surrounded by stem. But then when I got to my freshman year in high school, I entered the engineering program at Corona, and I loved the program. Dr. Wendell is the lead mentor for Aztec Robotics, as well as, like, the lead teacher at Corona for engineering. But I just encountered a lot of difficult situations where gender identity is, especially just how you express your gender became kind of uneven ground. So a lot of harassment and bullying just because of. I wasn't the exact definition of what people thought of when they thought of a guy in stem.
Right.
And so a lot of Rainbow Robotics was me reflecting on that experience after my freshman year. And then really just kind of. It's not just me by any means. I saw it in a lot of other people. And that's where we sorted got the idea for Rainbow Robotics in the first place.
I think it's a really good example of when we as a community feel bullied or othered. We take that experience and we create change. That's what you did. Like, you didn't internalize. I'm sure there was some internalization, but you didn't quit. You didn't give up. You were like, you know what? I'm going to change this situation so that me and other people that are like me feel welcomed in these spaces because we've earned our spot here. Gio, that's awesome.
Yeah. Gio, it's truly incredible. Could each of you tell us a little bit about yourselves? You know, where you're at. We know now that you founded Rainbow Robotics to create those spaces. And I think that's incredible. But, you know, tell us where you're at, where you're living, where you're in, where you're at at school. and, you know, just a little bit about yourselves.
I am currently a junior in high school working with engineering very heavily, especially part of robotics, which I'm the both programming lead of IT and our leader for Rainbow Robotics. As compatriot that gets very busy managing that much.
It's extraordinary.
But it's a very big deal for me because Rainbow Box sort of helped open up to me and put words of feelings that I didn't really understand before. I'd always been interested in STEM for a long time. I started doing programming sixth grade.
That's amazing.
It's been a long time. And Rainbow Robotics is what introduced me a lot more to the LGB community and the hardships that they face and helped me realize who I am by giving me the actual words to experience it.
What an extraordinary gift. Sandra. That was well said. That's beautiful.
Yeah. And I'm happy to carry it on.
And then I'm currently a freshman at the University of Arizona. So I kind of moved from Tucson this last year. Go
wild.
And, I'm a mechanical engineering student, but also one of the Pride alliance interns for the university. as well as treasurer of out in STEM here, and then also have been working a job for Flux Productions, which I actually ended up getting the job because of all my work with Rainbow Robotics. That was kind of what set me apart to take me in. And it's really an amazing organization. I could probably talk about them for a very long time, but they're a really cool cultural LGBTQ organization here.
Amazing. And get into a little bit of what you do at Rainbow Robotics. I know you formed a Robotics Teams Alliance. I know you've organized that. And tell us how the grant that you got from IT gets better. How did that impact the work that you're doing with Rainbow Robotics?
Well, one of the biggest part of Rain Robotics is outreach in our community. We have an entire, sub team of robotics dedicated to our outreach. A big part of that is Flame Robotics. We've worked with different youth LGBTQ organizations, such as 1 in 10, which just recently, this Monday, we had an event with 1 in 10 in which we demonstrated our new, LEGO version of our robot, Weiwei.
Nice. Everyone should learn through Legos. Yeah.
It is really fun.
Yeah. We go to
a bunch of different communities. We work with a bunch of different people and sponsors in order to help bring them to LGBTQ safe spaces or bring LGBQ plus to them. Safe space. Make it available for all people, especially the LGBTQ community.
Yeah, exactly. And actually kind of to build on that too. Aztec Robotics, we're like a high school robotics team. And so from when I started on it and now with Xander running it, we were looking at a really small operating budget per year. So the It Gets Better grant was really big because it allowed us to kind of attack the issue from all sides. So it wasn't just bringing events to LGBTQ organizations, giving them that, technical expertise, but also bringing inclusive material and training to already excitement in existence. Robotics teams, it's publishing the children's book Way Finds a Way and Weiwei Finds a Way activity book to teach younger audiences about those foundational concepts of inclusion and stem that really they can continue to build up as they go through elementary school, middle school and high school. and then it's really just kind of, how can we attack the issue from all sides because we have this money to work with now.
That's fantastic. I also love one of the things that you're all doing is you're working with the community. I mean, you hosted a teen resource fair in partnership with Phoenix Pride, right. That featured 18 organizations. So tell me about that, because from what I understand, you reached over 4,600 people by bringing hands on STEM activities into these existing safe spaces. So what was that like?
Well, it was a really interesting thing cause we had so many different groups involved with it. We had, something like Brick people from Brick Road. They're a local coffee shop that is LGBTQ friendly. We had, child welfare centers. We had a bunch of different organizations that was just meant to bring support to the community in different ways.
Yeah, it's really networking is what's gotten us here.
Yeah, but
4,603 people, not something like really to give you a skill bond as Tech Robotics is outreach. my sophomore year of high school, we were doing about 26 events in the community a year now. and actually, Xander, I don't know what your numbers are looking like currently, but last year we did over, I believe within two years we've done over 100 events.
And
a lot of that was Rainbow Robotics because it's that networking with different organizations with different groups that really, helped us reach so many people. And the Teen Resource Fair is the best example of that. Mental health, eating disorder awareness, LGBTQ resources, STEM resources, like how can we put everything together to really make an impact?
Amazing.
That's the answer Question to you. We have about 10 different events currently planned to do by the end of this year.
10
more events.
Wow.
And by the end of the year, we have
about seven
more events this November.
Listen, everyone. The kids are all right. I, mean, my goodness.
That's a very, very, ambitious schedule, and I love it. Finally, can you tell us why queer representation and inclusion in STEM is so important and why it's so vital?
For me, it's something that people need to recognize as that people, especially in queer communities, don't necessarily have the same resources that everyone else has available, especially because they're discriminated so heavily for just being themselves. Allowing
those
people to have those resources available to them is something very important, no matter what those incentives are. STEM is just a big factor that we are capable of doing.
I'm actually going to add in, too. when we originally submitted the grant, a lot of it was about making sure that. Yes, exactly, there's these resources available so people can pursue STEM as a career or just as a hobby. But I think today, actually, like right now more than ever, Rainbow Robotics is also important because it acts as an opportunity for queer and trans youth to get into teamworks and collaboration space races. just yesterday we saw the blue wave, but we also saw Prop 318 pass in the state of Arizona, which really limits sports for trans youth as well as it also includes a bathroom band. And so having Rainbow Robotics, that means there's robotics teams where kids can go out and they can learn these collaboration skills and the discipline and the curiosity that kind of often we associate with sports in another situation where it's also safe and affirming for them, since sports are something that kids can't pursue anymore in our state.
Yeah, I mean, Gio, it's a really good look on that. It happened in Colorado as well, which was very disappointing to me. The two initiatives on the ballot, they're hurting our trans community. And it's so hard because obviously we don't want to get mired in these negative aspects. But since we brought up the election and Xander, I know you're not a voting age yet, but I know you saw what happened now that hopefully will affect you in another couple of years. And Gio, you know, this administration has cut so much funding for things like stem. Did the midterms give you at least some hope and joy that these people that have been voted in may reinvigorate the money that would have gone to stem and that maybe some of that will come back to you now? That we have people that are actually caring about science and caring about math and caring about all of the things that you are actually working on in this world.
I think so. Yeah. Definitely.
Yeah. It definitely brought a little more hope at all. Yeah. 318 was definitely a very sad thing to see in Arizona. I
forget m
which state it was, but the first openly gay man, like they've been said, it was a very big, very big supporting move for the LPT community. And I'm happy to see, just with the blue wave, that hopefully in the future we can see a lot of improvement in a whole bunch of things, especially education, stem and lt. Right.
I, hope so too.
Well, thank you so much for all the work that you're doing. I think when younger kids see LGBTQ folks in STEM and being STEM being brought to these safe places, they feel more open to.
Pursue it. Right. I mean, just like all of these, like the openly gay Senator Pappas that we elected and all of these, I think we went over, what, six transgender and non binary people who won their races. When we have that kind of representation, I think people see it and say, I, you know, I can do that too.
Well, I mean, I know I don't want this to end. I learned so much from. And I hope it's okay to call you the youth, because, listen, I'm over 50, so you're the youth, but I learned so much from.
I bought even 18. Yeah. Calling you.
I learned so much from your generation and the drive and the. I don't want to say confidence in who you are, but it really is just knowing who you are. And Gia, what you said at the beginning, just to bookend this, like, feeling not accepted into spaces and changing the spaces, not changing yourself, you know who you are. We know who we are as an LGBTQ community, but when we have the power to change the spaces that we are in to be more welcoming, that's how we change the world. And I have a feeling some of those people that voted in Arizona are going to find out very quickly that their lives aren't going to get any better just because there was discrimination against some trans people in the community. And a very minute number of people, they're really going to understand, oh, my God, I was misinformed. I was lied to. And maybe they'll vote differently in the future. We can hope. We can hope.
We can hope. Geo, Zander, thank you so much. Thanks for all the work you're doing. I'm so happy that, you know, you're working with it gets better and that you got that grant and that, you know, you're creating these incredible opportunities for inclusion and representation in stem. I really, really appreciate your time today.
Yeah,
thank you so much.
Been a pleasure talking with you.
Thank you both very much.
All right, everybody, stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. Everybody, welcome back. It's time for more good news, everyone. Then good news, everyone. Good news. Hey, everybody. So we've already had a bunch of good news today. One more quick piece of good news before we get to what you can send in for your good news. Dana, what did you just tell me?
The blue tsunami is just going far and wide. We have flipped the state education board, the school board in Texas blue. That means these kids are actually going to get books, textbooks that are accurate in history and everything else and don't just have the Ten Commandments, they actually cover all of the constitutional amendments.
Nice. Nice very much. That's very, very awesome. I can't. Like, it's gonna just keep rolling in, isn't it? And that pleases me.
Oh, it is.
It just pleases me so much. all right, so good news. Listener submitted Good news. Send it all to us. Big good news, little good news. Tell us if you saw us. If you came to the election night watch party last night, let us know. Share your photos. Send it all to us dailybeanspod.com click on contact. and all you got to do to get your submission, which can be, like I said, good news or even your favorite street joke or misheard song lyrics or shout outs. We'd love shout outs to yourself, to loved ones, to small businesses, to non profits. You want us to know about government programs that have helped you or a loved one. Good trouble suggestions. We got to get in a lot of good trouble over the next couple months in this lame duck congress. I tell you what.
Oh yeah,
send your good trouble suggestions to us. And all you gotta do is attach a photo. It can be a your pet to pay your pod pet tax, but you can really send us a photo of anything. Again, that's DailyBeansPod.com and click on contact Again. Your good trouble is calls to cure ballots. We have more links for you and virtual phone banks hosted by vopros. Think Mississippi, OK. Mississippi law says voters have until noon on the 10th calendar day post election to correct a ballot deficiency. And you can help cure mail in and absentee ballots that have been cast to ensure that likely Democratic voters in states like Georgia, Iowa, Nevada and Ohio and more get their ballots counted as you know the data on rejected ballots comes in and votros helps voters fix those mistakes that are found. That's known as curing the ballot so that your vote counts. So join us for important impactful voter protection phone banks to help, cure votes. Ballot curing phone banks are happening every day until November 12th. Again we have a link in the show notes for you to help cure ballots. There are some really razor thin close races out there and you could really
make
m a difference.
I've got friends flying down in Mississippi right now to do just that.
Awesome.
Yep. All right, next up from anonymous pronoun she and her I want to give some good news and a shout out to Illinois District 26 state senator elect Nabila Syed for demolishing Republican incumbent Darby Hill 57% to 43%. Flipping that seat.
Amazing.
She's on her. Yep, she's on her second term as Illinois State Rep for the 51st district and is only 27 years old. Amazing. She won her first term at just 23 years of age and I'm so proud to have supported her since her very first campaign back in 2022. She's someone to watch out for. All, these good reasons. Congratulations to all of us for flooding our country blue my pod pet tax. Here's a picture of me trying to leave my in laws home when a sudden stowaway jumped onto my shoulders. Her is Kyrie. Oh, what a great name. And she's just about 2 years old and is the fluffiest outdoorsy girl you ever met. You can guess her mix, but my sister in law doesn't know either, so any guesses would be correct. Her two other siblings have short hair. Their mother entrusted my sister in law with her three newborn kittens before passing away. They are well loved and taken care of now in my sister in law's hands.
Oh my gosh, look at that sweet baby. It looks like part Maine coon at least.
So, so good.
Adorable. Oh, oh, oh. Becky pronouns she and her shout out to ag for an amazing election night gathering. And look, we've got some photos.
We love Becky.
And look, she got one with Harry. You, know what? Harry was giving out hugs to anybody who wanted one.
I love it
last night. It was so much fun. We had such a good time, everybody. We were at an incredible women's bar, oldest women's bar in the state. It's called Gossip Grill. And if you ever get a chance to go, I mean, we had bought it out, so it was just a private event. But it's a public, open business and it's just an amazing place to be. If you ever want to, you know, go have some fun food and drinks.
Absolutely. that was such a short one. Do you want to take this next?
Sure. This is from Nikki. She and her hello beans, queens and all those behind the scenes. I was just watching Beans talk and squeaked at the mention of Towson University in Maryland. Our son's a freshman there and this is his first year voting. Hooray. He did not vote on campus. We brought him home to early vote in our district a couple weeks ago. But, and this is the shout out part, he has been advocating to his friends and Instagram nonstop about the importance of voting. And people listened. I got an amazing text from him earlier today. It's in one of my pictures. We're so proud of him. We're so proud of his friends too. Some stood in line for six hours, but they stayed in line and they voted for the first time. The kids are all right. The other pick is our sweet Ivy, our adorable, goofy and very snuggly six and a half year old pillow princess, Blank, who we brought home two years ago. She saves us from menacing and terrifying squirrels on the daily. And as you can see, she's perfect. She's also sporting her Towson bandana. Let's see. Look at that. Sweet pity as I'm
assuming. Oh, I would think so.
Pity or a staffy? Which one? Hard to know. They seem very similar.
I know.
Here's a text. Mom, I want you to know multiple people told me directly that they voted because I've been making such a big stink online about it. I helped.
Oh, I love that.
Hell yeah. Look at this sweet doggy. Yeah, it's a staffy
so sweet.
Staffordshire terrier.
The baby.
I know. Face is adorable.
I know. An anonymous person. No, A, quietly subversive fed. No pronouns given. This is a shout out to Texas voters. All of the highest levels of Texas government were flipped yesterday. The executive, judicial and legislative branches will all have new ownership. My podpet tacks. I've attached a picture of the start of the Freedom Trail in Boston for my September trip. I walked the entire trail hoping we'd see change in the midterms. And we did.
Yeah, we sure did. Walk that trail every. Every election, would ya?
no, seriously,
I've taken that freedom Trail. I've walked it. It's pretty great. Next up, Jean Pronoun. She and her. Hello, my wonderful bringers of good election news. I write from Pennsylvania, where four House seats were flipped, including District 1BU that finally kicked out the Fitzpatrick family. That has monopolized the seat for decades, claiming to be moderate Republicans but always voting with the GOP when it mattered. Now it's blue for. I'm so happy for Bucks County. It's like my sister county over there. they write in all the time. It's just there's so many Legumina. There's tons of beans. Listeners that populate Bucks County. It's amazing.
It's awesome.
For the pet tax, please see puppies from our friends recent litter.
Yes, please.
Hello, puppies
at these little baby Germans is what they look like. Little German shepherds.
I'm so glad you got rid of Fitzpatrick. We finally redistricted 48 over here. Darrell Issa had it for a long time and then it was in Republican hands again and we had a Democrat win. Marty Von Wilpert won in 48. So we were kind of had a similar sort of quote unquote, moderate Republican stronghold billionaire seat, and we finally kicked him out.
That's awesome. That's awesome. Next up, Meg from Missouri Pronouns. She and her beloved Beans and Beans crew. Is this what hope feels like? I worked the polls for the first time yesterday and had an amazing experience. The bipartisan team I worked with was great. We had a huge turnout. I got to work my own polling place and see my community come in to cast their votes in numbers. We also had quite a few first time voters come through and every time we got one, we'd yell it down the line and we'd all cheered and clapped for them. One of the first time voters told me that she and her friends had gotten together and all made a voting plan. The kids are all right.
Amazing.
I am so proud of Missouri voters who once again voted to enshrine abortion protections in the Constitution.
Isn't that amazing? They voted for that and then the Republicans just came in and undid
it and they
have to vote for it again.
I know, motherfuckers. And she said, we said it once. They didn't listen, so we said it again louder. We also paused Amendment 6, which protects voter ballot initiatives. I'm also just overwhelmed and delighted to see the beautiful blue way that swept the U.S. we the people have spoken. And we said, fuck you, orange man. For my pod pet tax, I'm including a picture of my friends and me at trivia fundraiser event at Ozarks Literacy Council. They do the dopest shit. And if folks can donate to them, they should. And a picture of probably the coolest turkey vulture I've ever met at a zoo event I attended a while back. Love y'. All. Meg from Missouri.
Look at the ghosts.
Oh my God, that turkey vulture is wild.
Oh my gosh. I'm zooming in because that is a weird bird. Look at this little eye. all right, turkey vulture. Thank you so much for that. Next up, Ann Marie Pronoun. She and her I was so happy to attend the election night watch party in San Diego. So I went alone after going to a wedding north of here this weekend and thought, what the hell, I'll just drive to San Diego. I soon met some new friends and was delighted to meet Harry Dunn and Allison. It was so special to be with like minded people for this amazing night. Thank you Alison for hosting. You are welcome, Ann Marie. And we got a couple of photos. there's the photo. The moment that Talarico, won. You can see.
That's awesome.
The huge television screen we were all watching. It was just amazing.
Amazing is right. All right, next up for me, pronoun C and him. Hello Beans Queens. I've written several times about my run for Town council, which was largely inspired by the courage of the Leguminati. I have an update. Bear with me for a moment. I hit a low Point at 3:30 this afternoon. The combined influence of low blood sugar, lactic acid buildup from walking 11.5 miles, knocking doors yesterday, dehydration over caffeination, and standing at the pole since 6am somehow landed me in some form of imposter syndrome, which I started to question. Why was I even there? I drank some Gatorade, popped some Advil, went for a walk and then pressed onward. I knew that I had to make it to seven o' clock and that every voter needed my full attention. When the polls closed, we had no idea where we stood. I was running alongside two other candidates for the three seats on town council and a candidate for mayor who gave up her seat on council to step up to the next level. There's no polling for a town of 9,000 and we were reliant on vibes alone. Every voter we met door to door or at the polls, was a high stakes situation. We had every reason to feel good, but doubt lingered. When the polls closed, we cleaned up all the signs and tables and tents and went to the after party. I finally sat down when the results started to come in. I hugged my wife and I had an ugly cry. Even though our opponents outspent us by tens of thousands of dollars and spent the last six months telling blatant lies about me and my chosen team. We prevailed. We didn't just win, we kicked ass. We won 70% to 30%. we just elected the first female mayor in our town's 118 year history. Our town just sent a clear message that we are all done with the bullshit and ready to move in a new direction. It's going to take a while to process all this, but I wanted to share with this community as soon as I was able. Thank you all for continuing to fight the good fight. We can get our towns, cities and county, states and nation back if we work together for potpet tax. I give you a random Internet picture of an axolotl because it made me happy. Good night, Beans team.
Oh, get some sleep. Get some sleep, Mitch. And congratulations.
Yeah,
you kicked ass. That's amazing. Yeah. And eat some food, please, sir.
Seriously,
keep your blood sugar up, up. We need you on that town council. Amazing. Everyone, please continue to flood us with good news. We've got so much good news that we're going to be able to talk about in the next, like I said, in the coming weeks, months and years now that we've got Congress. So we're going to see you over on Beans, talk. It'll be just a, a nice, get together with some pictures of, watching results come in live and just tiny little clips and, and photos. I think you'll really enjoy it. So we'll see you there and we'll see you back here tomorrow. Tomorrow. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health and take care of your family. You guys, you voted blue no matter who. You didn't vote red.
Oh, no. None of us are dead.
Yay. I've been ag.
I've been dg
and, them's the beans.
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