Some thoughts on the 2026 midterm from TPM Reader TS (Theda Skocpol) …
The November 3, 2026 election results are a landmark in U.S. political history, opening the door to a possible repudiation of the Trump synthesis of plutocratic patrimonial corruption with MAGA ethnic and racial hatreds. No one, no partisan operation or pundit, anticipated the full sweep, depth, and size of this Democratic electoral victory. Candidates everywhere at all levels of government won by 7 to 14 or more points. Congressional control changes by huge margins (to as much as 56/60 Senate seats and up to a 160 seat gain in the House, a huge majority margin), yet the changes in the states are even more important, giving Democrats governors in I believe 26 states, full control of many swing state legislatures, and breaking GOP supermajorities in key red states. All kinds of Democrats won from many outlooks, identity backgrounds, and occupational experiences – this was a diversity election WITHOUT talking about race, gender, class, or ethnicity – and they did it all talking about the same core popular concerns with rising living costs, a stupid war, destructive interior immigration raids, and elite corruption. The key was having candidates that fit their states and districts and talked with voters everywhere.
Will the Democrats now rise to the occasion of building on this through at least two more national elections? To do so, they must avoid “progressive” versus “centrist” fights, stop passing huge kitchen sink bills no one understands and instead pass one at a time popular measures and force Trump to veto them, and keep in touch with their voters everywhere. They must use state government powers to the max to get more visible wins than they can via Congress (without the presidency for the next two years), and they must invest more in organizing on the ground in the South to build on Black outrage over voting rights attacks by the Supreme Court. Fire most of the high priced TV consultants who recommend a lot of TV ads just before elections, invest in sustained all year organizing through existing on the ground networks, keep the messaging straightforward and clear (use some advertising money for that), and relentlessly excoriate Trump and remaining GOP officeholders who try to block changes. Work with Republicans to pass things where possible but make it clear who is personally to blame when they block things.
American democracy has entered a very hopeful but still fraught juncture.
