Pessimism literally helps nobody, it just makes people more depressed and less likely to do anything about a bad situation. Don't forget that last election had one of the highest young voter turnouts ever recorded, and was by far a huge swing to liberal. Since then the Republican party hasn't even been close to as organised as they were during 2016 and 2020.
Change can and will happen. It already is, albeit slowly and with bumps along the road, just like any progression in society.
I'm glad you have some optimism left in you. I don't.
Trump or that clown Sunak winning your election will have catastrophic effects for my country who's been in full scale war for almost 2 years. All the while the "allies" drag this war out by giving bullshit reasons to not send long range missiles and aircraft (uwu 5-8 months basic proficiency for fighter pilots proficient on a different platform , also known as "if they started even last year, f16s would be flying at least SEAD by now and not relying on a jank adaptor to launch HARM"), and decide that sending 31 Abrams tanks is good enough for a 1200km long frontline.
I had some optimism in March 2022, despite how bad everything looked at the time, it slowly diminished to what it is now by Spring of 2023 when it became clear that goal #1 for our "allies" is NOT to end this war, as quickly as possible, but to bleed russia out, death by a thousand cuts, all with our lives.
No, I'm banking on the younger generations coming out of the woodwork. They've dealt with so much and really hoping they realize their vote could really send these dinosaurs into extinction.
I agree, I have some hope as common folk get more and more tuned in, especially as obscure runs like the Wisconsin Supreme Court judgeship and votes against the Ohio constitutional amendment process change result in overwhelming positive outcomes.