Joe Biden will seek to lead the nation through the coronavirus pandemic, rebuild the economy and help develop an equal playing field on which all Americans can succeed.

But the president-elect’s major challenge is to unite a divided country, a feat that few modern presidents have been able to accomplish.

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and members of Congress can’t be the only folks looking to bring the country together. The American people also should strive to change the tenor of our politics.

Most politicians are almost hopelessly bound by party loyalty. That mentality has been adopted by many Americans who act as if political parties are hometown sports teams. And they allow their party leaders to get away with more misdeeds than any struggling quarterback or team general manager. Holding politicians to the same standard, no matter the party, is a good start to breaking gridlock and bringing us together.

One more take before I recap the Texas political scene.

Over the last five years, President Donald Trump has dominated the news cycle. It’s been endless stories about the president, including his controversial behavior, tweets and comments. Trump will remain a news generator for the remainder of his term and beyond.

If government should be as inconsequential as possible in the lives of Americans, Biden shouldn’t make himself part of a news obsession. In that regard, let’s get back to normal.

A little bit of history.

Harris, who is Black and South Asian American, becomes the first woman and first woman of color elected vice president. It comes 100 years after women began voting under the 19th Amendment, and 55 years after the Voting Rights Act. News outlets declared Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential race 48 years after his upset win in Delaware for Senate, and on his third try for the White House. George H.W. Bush, who lost to Bill Clinton in 1992, was the last one-term president.

Here are three more takeaways from Tuesday’s elections.

Texas has many discerning voters

Record numbers of voters flooded the polls and mailboxes to make their voices heard. Turns out, many voters had nuanced approaches to filling out their ballots.

Straight-ticket voting has been outlawed in Texas.

Last week Biden pulled ahead of Trump in Tarrant County. At the same time, five Republican state House members targeted by Democrats won their contests. That means there were plenty of crossover voters. All but one of the targeted GOP statehouse candidates outperformed Trump.

It was a similar story for two Dallas County statehouse races. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred easily defeated Republican Genevieve Collins for reelection. Yet, the GOP state House incumbents Morgan Meyer and Angie Chen Button were victorious, although Button’s opponent has yet to concede the close race. Both hold seats inside Allred’s Congressional District 32.

The message is clear: Candidates from both parties must learn to appeal to general election voters willing to split their ballots.

Biden could be a gift to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott

When he was attorney general and a candidate for governor, Abbott’s stump speech included quips about waking up in the morning and suing President Barack Obama. Abbott and Republican candidates across the country used an anti-Obama themes to great effect. During the Obama years Republicans increased their clouts in statehouses across the country.

Abbott and the GOP statewide leadership team is up for reelection in 2022. It’s a midterm contest, and without Trump on the ballot, Abbott will use Biden as a foil to fire up his conservative base.

But the governor could get a challenge from the right, and Democrats will blast Abbott over his handling of the pandemic.

Texas Republicans still dominate state politics, but Democrats have improved their standing.

Last week my theory was that the composition of the Texas electorate would determine the outcome of the election and that the high number of voters—which exceeded 11 million—put Lone Star politics in uncharted territory.

Republicans proved that whether the number is 8 million voters or 12 million voters, they have the numbers to win.

Democrats had a strong performance, though they failed to meet their own expectations of winning a statewide race or seizing the Texas House.

Texas is a center-right state, so Democrats have to develop messages that appeal to the center-left to have a chance of winning statewide races in Texas. Republicans can’t get caught napping. Texas may not be a presidential battleground, but it’s still a state where Democrats are competitive.