A week later, it’s obvious the 2026 midterm elections were more than just an historic rebuke. “Bloodbath” was the descriptor, repeated ad infinitum—worse than Obama’s “shellacking” in 2010. Conservative pre-vote doomsayers are saying they underestimated the losses.
House Speaker Mike Johnson—an example of ineffectuality—is gone, though he held his seat in Louisiana’s 4th. He and his cadre of what can now be safely called “establishment” Republicans dumped millions of dollars into campaigns without a clue how to forcefully tout accomplishments and blunt attacks. His replacement, the barely articulate Hakeem Jefferies, is an ulcer waiting to happen for the battered MAGA ranks and the American right. In the Senate, the macabre return of Chuck Schumer gives the heebie-jeebies to any right-winger. Future Senate Minority Leader John Thune, described as a “moderate collaborator” by Politico, will need to hone those collaborative skills if and when he’s invited to Schumer’s inner sanctum.
Vice President Vance, a remains-to-be-seen 2028 candidate, openly blamed the Iran War for the losses. Vance—too authorial for my taste—should sharpen his skills during the Congressional lame-duck months and over the next year if he aspires in a cycle likely to include a load of GOP candidates looking to capitalize on the ’26 rout. Last Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz offered a crestfallen call to hold the line in Texas—thereby announcing his candidacy.
In the wake of the catastrophe, with Texas and Ohio felled and unfathomably-elected Democratic Socialists installed across the political landscape, the Trump right that showed up as always for the President must now sit by and watch every positive gain achieved since 2024 come under siege. Left-wing celebrators are shoveling dirt over MAGA, while cooler Republican heads are betting on a far-left Democrat overreach.
On the eve of the vote, Trump was criticized by partisan observers for appearing at the murky Reflecting Pool. It was suggested he might’ve taken Air Force One to the southern border, highlighting his signature accomplishment. Yet some symbolism might be gleaned from reflections on an election in which complacent one-party control, muddled messaging, and Trump fatigue formed like algae around the GOP.