It took a Democratic win in a bellwether district to convince the mainstream media that Democrats may hold on to both the House and Senate.

I watched Steve Kornacki bend himself into knots to make this race seem more like a rat race than it was. Pat Ryan (D-NY) scored a huge special election upset for the Democratic Party by defeating in New York’s 19th District. This is a swing seat in the Hudson Valley that Molinaro appeared poised to flip.

“This could be the story of the summer politically, just in terms of setting the stage for the midterm election and for expectations,” Steve Kornacki said. “I am talking about the special election in New York’s 19th district. Pat Ryan, the Democrat, has defeated Mark Molinaro, the Republican.”

The flip attempt was a flop. Worse, Ryan won the district by a higher margin than President Joe Biden did in 2020. Even though Democrats did not win all special elections, their margins narrowed substantially in a year that everyone expected a red tsunami. The generic congressional ballot is a virtual tie. And then there was Kansas, where the attempt by Republicans to control women’s bodies in Kansas met an embarrassing defeat.

Mainstream media finally reports reality. Democrats are winning.

Kornacki ended the segment with some prescient words.

“We’ve been talking all year. Biden’s popularity isn’t good,” Steve Kornacki said. “The country’s mood isn’t good, especially when it comes to the economy. Typically, the out-of-power party does really well in midterm elections. I think we now have the strongest single piece of evidence in this 19th district special election tonight, that in spite of all of that, I think it’s worth asking questions about can the Democrats hold on to the Senate and even for the Democrats potentially hold on to the House this November?”

He said it. The House is in play. We may not have to see a Speaker McCarthy, a clear and present danger to America.