Democrats, who haven’t had much good news lately, prevailed Tuesday in an election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court − notable because it was for the swing vote on the top court in the nation’s quintessential swing state.

While Republicans held onto two Florida congressional seats in special elections, the GOP’s margin in the solidly red districts was slashed compared with just five months ago. A yawning advantage of 33 percentage points for Donald Trump in Florida’s 1st district and 30 points in the 6th district was cut by half, to 15 and 14 points.

Victories, yes, but with a red flag attached.

To be clear, one state court seat and two congressional races that were closer than before do not a landslide make. The unending onslaught of news, including Trump’s promise to impose global tariffs on Wednesday, will quickly compete for attention. By the midterm elections next year, the nation may have been transformed in one way or another.

And yet.

After 72 disruptive days of President Trump 2.0, the trio of contests provided the first significant electoral test of how he’s doing. Not the assessments of polls, pols and pundits, but the votes cast by citizens.

The message: The GOP has maintained its narrow hold on the House. But Democrats have a pulse.

As the polls were closing in Florida, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey was trying to make a similar point − that resistance to Trump is alive and energized − as he broke the record for delivering the longest Senate speech in history. For just over 25 hours, he had held the floor to decry the direction Trump has taken the country on immigration and the economy and national security.

That said, Booker’s marathon speech ended with applause but not with action -- a demonstration of Democrats’ lack of clout as Republicans control the capital’s platforms of power, at the White House and the Senate and the House.

That didn't change Tuesday.

In the Florida races, Republican Jimmy Patronis won the seat vacated by the scandal-ridden Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned when Trump nominated him, briefly, as attorney general. Republican Randy Fine succeeded Rep. Mike Waltz, now the White House national security adviser. 

One surprise: Republican strategists considered Patronis a strong candidate and Fine a weak one, with national Republicans dumping in money and attention to assure Fine's victory. But the two candidates performed almost precisely the same − 56.7% for Fine, 57% for Patronis. 

That could indicate that voters were thinking nationally, less about their local representative and more about the man in the White House.

Republicans now have 220 House seats, Democrats 213. The two remaining vacancies, in Arizona and Texas, are in solidly blue districts and are likely to bring the Democrats to 215 when those special elections are held. 

Assuming that happens, the GOP would have a five-seat majority in the House − meaning Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could afford to lose no more than two votes to guarantee a majority.

That is so close that Trump has pulled his nomination of New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as United Nations ambassador amid concern about whether Republicans would hold her seat − in a district Trump had carried by 20 points.

Trump has had experience with the omens that special elections can carry. During the first year of his first term, there were six special House elections, and control didn't change in any of them. But Republican candidates lost ground compared with 2016, and Democrats gained.

The next year, Democrats picked up a stunning 41 House seats and regained control, setting the stage for a more formidable opposition and, as it turned out, two impeachment votes.

You would think spending $20 million or so on behalf of the conservative Supreme Court nominee would buy you some friends.

As it turned out, Elon Musk's record-breaking spending either wasn't enough or actually proved to be a liability. Liberal circuit court judge Susan Crawford tied her conservative opponent, county judge Brad Schimel, to Musk at every turn. Schimel tried to keep his distance.

"Wisconsin beat the billionaire," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats' vice-presidential nominee in their losing race last year, crowed in a post on X.

Wisconsin is accustomed to nail-biter races. In 2020, Trump lost the Badger State by less than one percentage point; in 2024 he won it by less than one percentage point.

But the margin on Tuesday wasn't close, and the race was called just an hour or so after the polls had closed. Crawford, backed by Democrats in the purportedly nonpartisan contest, was leading by about 10 points.

Next up: The off-year gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia.