Dr. Yohuru Williams, founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative and Distinguished University Chair at the University of St. Thomas, spoke with MPR News about the results of the recent 2026 midterm election and what it means for Minnesotans and the nation as a whole.
From the conversation:
Young people, who have historically been less likely to participate in elections, demonstrated increased political engagement this year. Along with young people, those of diverse backgrounds also participated in the recent election in greater numbers than in previous years. As an explanation for this sudden change, Yohuru explained the concept of “civil theology”: that voters need to have faith in the political system and that their voice can make a difference. That faith inspires voters to speak up to make a change.
“Despite efforts by the president at the highest level to erode that faith in our civil theology, you saw young people show out in record numbers. You saw African American and Latino voters show out in record numbers. You saw people who were upset with the political system as it’s presently constituted show up and say, ‘We still believe in a system. It may be flawed, but we believe it works and we’re going to vote in order to affirm that this is the democracy that we want to maintain.’”
