As the midterms draw to a close, two strategists and an elected leader discuss how our two major parties gain — and wield — political control.

As the region and the nation continued counting votes from the midterms, a brief period of reflection has descended on local and national politics. Candidates and incumbents who won must decide what forward path to chart. Those who came up short, meanwhile, are left to reassess their political prospects.

As part of this examination, Civic Cocktail invited political insiders to consider the lessons of the midterms and a general question that animates American politics: When so much about our political process feels so messy, divisive and volatile, what does it take to win a race, bring about a new policy or just lead?

In the episode’s first segment, host Monica Guzman sits down with King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay to talk about the practical considerations of power and policy at his level of government.

"I think people are really disillusioned with the federal government and how hard it is to create change at the federal level," said Grimay. "It's much easier, relatively speaking, to create change at the local level."

Then, in the second segment, Republican consultant Alex Hays and Democratic consultant Crystal Fincher discuss how the challenges of running for office and winning on policy look different, yet the same, through red and blue lenses.

This conversation was recorded on Nov. 9, 2022.

Civic Cocktail is a production of Seattle City Club and Crosscut.

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Credits

Host: Mónica Guzmán

Podcast production: Mark Baumgarten

Event production: Jake Newman, Andrea O'Meara