Get the Ricochet app
Ricochet will work fine in a browser on your mobile devices, but for the best experience please download our app.
Heritage co-founder Dr. Ed Feulner had a well-known saying. “In Washington, there are no permanent victories or permanent defeats.”
But victories and defeats there are, and President Trump and the Republican Party received a decisive defeat at the ballot box in yesterday’s midterm election. As of this morning’s recording, Democrats have secured significant majorities in both the House and Senate, and have lost several key governorships across the country. Even in places where President Trump had a commanding lead in the 2024 election, support for Republicans has collapsed. No better example of this is Texas, where Democrats have secured victories in all statewide races, including for Senator and Governor. This outcome was considered a stretch by analysts on the left and unthinkable by those on the right.
It’s clear that the 2026 midterm elections will be an inflection point in American political life. And that begs the question: what next?
Here to help us understand what happened and where we go from here is the Executive Vice President of Heritage Action, Steve Chartan.
