The votes are in and millennial optimism is back with all its props: avocado toast, BuzzFeed quizzes, a stomp-clap-hey playlist, and, of course, a Coexist sticker.
A blue tsunami swept the 2026 midterm elections. The Democrats won their first senate seat in Kansas since 1932, and flipped the notoriously red state of Texas blue, taking the governorship and a Senate seat, eventually winning control over both chambers of Congress, sparking widespread celebration.
The blue festivities continued beyond the late-night victory parties, flooding social media platforms with thousands of posts, in which users reclaimed a bygone era of optimism and the collective feeling of hope and possibility.
“This is what millennial optimism felt like,” one user said on X. Another added, “As an elder millennial, I’ve forgotten how to handle optimism.”
For most, translating the feeling into a post is easiest done by referencing iconic pieces of media, from the websites one visited to the songs that filled their playlists “back in the day.”
“Millennial optimism is back baby. I’m blasting Florence and the Machine bass boosted the dog days ARE over,” one user said in a post with more than 18,000 likes.
Another user added, “they’re gonna bring buzzfeed back.” Another replied, “resistance is back so hard, this app is about to be renamed twitter.”
Others have taken to sharing how the excitement feels IRL, with one user posting a video from a club in Austin, where partygoers are singing along to Fun.’s “We Are Young” while election coverage fills the screens.
For many, the return of optimism comes along with a series of cultural moments this year that have teased “woke is back.”
“Woke being back means that it’s actually the perfect time for a glee reboot you guys didn’t have your third eye open,” one user said, referencing a forthcoming reboot of the popular 2010s television show Glee.
Others referenced the reboot of Lena Dunham’s millennial-focused series Girls: “Girls and Glee returning was the sign. We just were too scared to see it.”
The next generation of hopecoreThe optimism is not just for the millennials who actually experienced the Obama days as young adults—Gen Z is joining in on the hopecore as well.
“I finally understand how this feels,” a user said on X, alongside a video of a 2016 Tony Awards performance of The Battle of Yorktown from Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton.
A user replied, “everybody shut up its gen z’s turn for millennial optimism.”
Gen Zers—who romanticized millennial optimism earlier this year through old Instagram filters, twee outfits, and edits with 2010s songs—are jumping in with their own style, driven by irreverent sarcasm and hyperbole.
Some flipped Republican talking points—like pushback on pronouns and diversity—on their heads, turning them into celebratory posts.
“We are going to have pronouns you xeople won’t believe,” one user shared in a post with 69,000 likes.
Another added, “Blue wave so strong, they’re already saying if you don’t have your pronouns back in your email signature by noon tomorrow, Cory Booker will show up at your parents house and make your mom do the Nae Nae.”
Others revived old memes or reclaimed the term “lib.”
“Feel like i just fell out of a fucking coconut tree,” a user posted on X, referencing Kamala Harris’s viral 2024 meme.
Another added, “I’ve libbed out before but i don’t think i’ve ever libbed out quite like this before.”
For Democrats, this week’s midterm elections went nearly as well as they could have hoped. The party has gained at least seven seats in the Senate and 29 in the House of Representatives, securing full Congressional control. Some conservative strongholds even flipped blue, including Kansas, South Carolina, and Texas.
Election Day also marked a number of groundbreaking firsts for the country, including the first Black woman to serve as governor, and the first openly gay man and first Muslim to win seats in the Senate.
But the so-called “blue tsunami” doesn’t mean liberal policies won out everywhere, even in places where Democrats gained or maintained control. Four states passed or are close to passing ballot initiatives to restrict the rights of transgender children, including three that voted blue in this election.
So far, two ballot initiatives restricting the rights of transgender student athletes have already passed. The first is Nebraska’s Initiative 442, which amends the state’s constitution to require that schools designate sports teams as male, female, or coeducational based on “biological sex.” It also bans “students of the male sex” from playing on girls’ teams. The measure passed with 68% approval.
The second measure to pass is Arizona’s Proposition 318, which similarly requires schools to designate teams by gender and prohibits any students assigned male at birth from playing on girls’ teams. Unlike Nebraska, Arizona was solidly blue in this election, with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs winning reelection.
The other states with initiatives addressing trans athletes on their ballots are Colorado and Washington, both of which have Democratic governors and two Democratic senators.
In Colorado, two ballot initiatives center on trans children. Proposition 134 would follow Arizona and Nebraska’s lead in requiring athletes to play on teams matching their sex assigned at birth, while Proposition 135 would prohibit gender-affirming surgery for minors.
Washington’s Initiative 638 is perhaps the most controversial of all these measures. Beyond restricting students to sports teams that match their sex assigned at birth, the initiative would require all players on girls’ teams to provide a statement from a medical provider verifying their sex, potentially involving genital exams.
Colorado’s and Washington’s measures are still too close to call, but reports show they are currently on track for approval.
LGBTQ+ social media reactsWhile many online are celebrating the blue tsunami, the success of these anti-trans measures has spoiled what would otherwise be a resounding political victory for some voters.
“I don’t feel like ‘libbing out,’” reads one viral post sharing a graphic of the initiatives’ early results. It’s garnered more than 243,000 views on X.
I don’t feel like “libbing out” pic.twitter.com/QmevNtdYdQ
— hanna h. heebert (@chantaldykerman) November 4, 2026“Yes, there is a blue wave. But the amount of transphobic initiatives that are passing, even in deep blue states, is very very concerning,” writes another user.
Others agreed that the measures’ success in Democratic strongholds was especially troublesome: “‘Blue wave’ but trans people aren’t even safe in Denver, Colorado,” reads one response to the news.
“Blue wave is great but please don’t leave trans women and girls behind while you celebrate,” a fourth user pleads. “Trans girls’ rights were successfully taken away yesterday in several states; they’re still here and deserve to be fought for.”