Our new book is The Comeback: The 2024 Elections and American Politics. It includes a chapter on congressional and state elections. The early signs in the 2026 midterms do not favor Republicans.
Ariel Edwards-Levy, Jennifer Agiesta, and Edward Wu at CNN:
Public opinion on nearly every aspect of President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House is negative, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds, with a majority of Americans saying Trump is focused on the wrong priorities and doing too little to address cost of living.
A majority, 58%, calls the first year of Trump’s term a failure.
There’s hardly any good news in the poll for Trump or the Republican Party entering a critical midterm year, with the president’s handling of the economy looming as the defining issue in key House and Senate races.
Asked to choose the country’s top issue, Americans pick the economy by a nearly two-to-one margin over any other topic. The poll suggests Trump is struggling to prove that he’s addressing it. And it finds broad concerns over Trump’s use of presidential power and his efforts to put his stamp on American culture.
Cook changes 18 House ratings, all in favor of Democrats, including four districts in New York. https://t.co/yb4pRTK73L pic.twitter.com/dUFwI4pi0Z
— Michael Li 李之樸 (@mcpli) January 15, 2026
