Washington expects Trump to face major midterm rebuke from Republican voters
Political insiders believe 2026 midterms could deliver Trump's first decisive electoral defeat, driven by GOP defections in key races.
What to know
- Washington insiders—Democrats, Republicans, pollsters—believe Trump faces unprecedented midterm rejection driven by Republican defections, not just Democratic opposition.
- Polls show Democrats potentially winning Senate seats in the low fifties, with competitive races from Alaska to Maine, and high-profile races like Texas featuring Trump-backed candidates in jeopardy.
- The critical unknown is Trump's response: how far he will go to contest election results if he faces a major defeat, a risk Glasser identifies as central to the country's future.
- Constitutional constraints—impeachment requires a two-thirds supermajority and is unlikely to pass; elections remain the most powerful check on any president.
“The bigger question, in any event, may well be Trump's reaction to the electoral rebuke that looks to be headed his way: How far is he willing to go to back up his claims of a 'rigged election' with actions designed to make it so?”
Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker political correspondent · The New Yorker ↗
Donald Trump President in second termSusan B. Glasser New Yorker political correspondent
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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2026 midterm elections held
The midterm elections occur, with results expected to shape Trump's final two years in office. Polls show Democrats potentially winning low-fifties Senate seats, with competitive races across the country.
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GlasserWashington believes Trump faces decisive midterm defeat
Susan B. Glasser publishes analysis on the eve of the 2026 midterms, reporting that political Washington believes this election will be different for Trump—that he faces rejection not just from Democrats but from millions of Republicans in red America voting against him and his policies.
“the campaign obsessives in the capital really think that this may finally be the Big One…”
— Susan B. Glasser
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by WSJ, 4d ago · also New Yorker, The Week, Financial Times
3 more headlines
- Finally, the Beginning of Trump's End New Yorker · 4d ago
- Is this the beginning of the end for the Trump era? The Week · 3d ago
- The beginning of the end of the age of Trump Financial Times · 3d ago
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first by The Australian, 3d ago · also The Guardian
1 more headline
- The end of Maga as we know it The Guardian · 2d ago
What people are saying 3 voices from 1 site · verbatim
- Nov 3
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If Democrats get a veto-proof majority, I would advocate for: - federally mandated ranked choice voting - legistlating away big money (citizens united etc.) in politics - a federal ban on gerrymandering All of that would return power where it belongs: to We The People.
- Oct 30
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That sounds like a good idea until you remember minorities exist in the yeehaw states and they’d have Jim Crow back by Easter and slavery by next Christmas
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The problem with stupid people is that they don’t learn from their mistakes. That’s what makes them stupid.