A Democratic Wave In 2026? David Brady And Douglas Rivers On Midterms

By now, it’s a familiar story in American politics: a president comes to office with his party in control of Congress, only to see a disillusioned electorate hand over the legislative branch to the opposition party two years later. Will 2026 be more of the same – and a repeat of what befell President Trump in 2018 when Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives in the party’s worst loss since Watergate? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, discuss what their tracking poll of voters suggests in the way of a “wave” election (Brady thinks a Democratic gain of 30 House and six Senate seats could pan out, though a half-dozen Senate races are too close to call). Also discussed: current instability in American politics as opposed to relative stability over the past century; why pollsters struggle to measure Republican sentiment in rural “red” states; and what lies ahead after next week’s election – Democrats juggling progressive demands while trying to come across as mainstream-moderate, while Republicans begin to adjust to the reality of life after the term-limited Trump (not that Trump will leave the stage as the GOP chooses his successor).

Recorded on October 29, 2026.

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