It’s possible the 2022 midterm elections could have gone better for the Democrats, but it’s hard to imagine how.

Not only did they maintain their majority in the Senate (and possibly increased it, depending on the Georgia runoff), they barely lost the House, giving up many fewer seats than predicted. They also flipped multiple state legislative chambers while only losing one governorship. Hopes that the demise of Roe v. Wade and warnings that American democracy is imperiled would sufficiently energize liberals and women to mitigate or even neutralize the usual midterm penalty suffered by the president’s party proved shockingly prophetic. Fed up with soaring prices, fearful about the state of the economy, and soured on President Joe Biden’s leadership as they were, many voters still decided the devil they knew was better than the Republican they didn’t.