The 2020 race is on

What was the biggest surprise of this election in which Democrats won control of the U.S. House? Maybe that President Donald Trump is still planning to visit France for a World War I commemoration, instead of traveling to a battleground state for a political rally.

No, it’s not too soon to be thinking about 2020. Because you know Trump is gaming out re-election strategies right now, just as Rep. Nancy Pelosi, among other Democratic leaders, is contemplating how her party can retake the presidency and Senate.

You weren’t hoping to take a breather from politics, were you?

This next stage of competition will play out on multiple levels. Soon, some of the Democrats who’ve been popping up in Iowa and New Hampshire will join U.S. Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., as announced presidential challengers. That surely will fire up Trump, who loves campaigning at least as much as governing.

His presidency did not succumb to a blue wave of opposition. Republicans appear to have increased their clout in the Senate, which means they’ll likely keep confirming Trump’s judicial nominees.

They also won a number of important races for governor; they pivot to 2020 holding the governorships (and thus levers of power) in Florida and Ohio, arguably the two most crucial swing states in a presidential election.

On Wednesday and beyond, America is just as divided as it was before Tuesday’s election. But with that flip of House control and with lingering divisions in both major parties, everything is amped up.

The race to 2020 is on.