Election 2026: What Now?

There is no sugarcoating the GOP’s midterm election massacre.

(As a quick aside: How did Democrats win while living under a fascist dictatorship? Who’s stupider, the Democrats who said they were, or the dictator who let them win?)

Republicans lost narrow majorities in the Senate, the House, and also gubernatorial races, some of each unexpectedly.

But were the losses fatal for the Republican Party or the nation?

Although Republicans face some reflection/restructuring, neither is likely.

This election was nothing new.

The president’s party usually loses congressional seats in midterm elections. This one didn’t even set records.

Presidents Cleveland, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower and Clinton all suffered major midterm losses.

In 2006, President George W. Bush lost six Republican Senators and 30 House members. In 2014, President Barack Obama lost nine Senate Democrats after Republicans had picked up 63 House seats in the 2010 midterms.

The political pendulum always swings, and it will again, perhaps very quickly (more on that later).

There are hundreds of early explanations and recriminations about why Republicans lost, but two factors stand out.

The Iran war influenced the outcome. But, criticizing President Donald Trump for attacking Iran ignores the existential necessity of preventing Iran’s imminent possession of nuclear capabilities. Iran declared war in 1979. Trump is the first president to fight it.

However, one can legitimately criticize the president for the cease fire and negotiation delays, for his infatuation with deal-making that allowed him to think that deals could be made with medieval savages.

If you start a kinetic war, finish it. President Trump did (and still has) not.

Despite a robust economy, Democrats ran on “affordability” – health care, housing, energy, etc. even though those high prices track back to Democrat administrations.

Many (most?) Americans remain ignorant of Obamacare’s profound impact on industry consolidation and medical care/insurance costs, and that high housing costs resulted from the demand stimulated by Democrats’ admission of millions of illegal immigrants.

A population grown accustomed to instant gratification – e.g., movies on demand, four-hour Amazon deliveries – lacked the patience to permit the administration the time necessary to make additional progress in those areas.

Ironically, Democratic candidates made no campaign proposals to lower prices. None. No one knows how they plan to achieve affordability. One doubts they even care.

So, what now?

There are a number of possibilities, but one thing is certain: Democrats will overplay their hand. They always do, and it will eventually backfire. The only question this time is, how quickly?

On election night, immediately after the House flip was called, some congressional Democrats were on social media threatening subpoenas, and advising Trump administration figures to “lawyer up.” Clearly, “affordability” was never a Democrat priority.

As it has always been, it’s about exacting revenge on Donald Trump for having the temerity – and the votes – to beat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

This year, nearly every far-left Democratic Socialist, including anti-Semitic Muslim socialists, won. Empowered, that radical alliance will mistakenly assume a mandate and make demands that move already-liberal Democrat congressional caucuses even farther left.

The Democratic Socialists’ agenda includes abolishing the Senate, presidency, and Supreme Court. Their platform seeks to abolish ICE, borders and prisons, defund the military, and give illegals mass amnesty.

But, again, there’s nothing in it about “affordability.”

There is another certainty: American presidents hold a veto pen; Donald Trump will be president for two more years; so gridlock is inevitable.

Frustrated, Democrats will dial up anti-Trump administration lawfare to convince their supporters they are doing “something.” No one, including the left, will be impressed. Constant lawfare will be as off-putting to independent voters and moderate Democrats as to conservatives.

Remember, in the second Trump presidency, child and minority poverty hit an all-time low; the murder rate reached the lowest ever recorded; real median family income set a record; and U.S. crude oil and natural gas production reached all-time highs. Manufacturing is repatriating, and good-paying, family-supporting jobs are being created.

America has a bright future if Democrats don’t ruin it. But they will try to undo it all.

Now – or, at least, soon – more Americans must – will – unite in opposition to the Democrats’ radicalism, to do what’s necessary to save the nation from their Marxist-Islamist agenda, and to stop their war on the Constitution and capitalism.

The new Congress may set a speed record for generating buyer’s remorse.

https://www.pottsmerc.com/2026/11/08/jerry-shenk-election-2026-what-now/