(08-30-2026 07:15 AM)AdoptedMonarch Wrote:  Until now, speculation on the midterms have been mostly recreational. In September it becomes real.

My own guess is that the House is going to flip. Not only do we have the historical headwinds faced by the party holding the White House, but the national mood seems to be leaning away from Republicans - - for both bad and good reasons.

The most unfair challenge faced by Republicans is the Iraq War. What the Trump administration has achieved, and its motivating principles in doing so, should be beyond reproach. My own assessment is that history will view this as Trump’s greatest achievement. Literally world saving.

The most frustrating criticism facing the current administration is its misuse of tariffs. Yes, there is a trade imbalance. And, yes, are a legitimate tool for addressing that. Yet the Trump administration has completely failed in this regard. Canada is only the latest example. In what should have been the easiest case to make that an adjustment is needed in our trade imbalance has been turned into a joke over renaming of one of the Great Lakes. Canada didn’t do that. The orange idiot did.

Where does it matter? Five places: Alaska, Ohio, Michigan, New Hampshire and Maine. All five of these competitive Senate races should go to the Republicans - - particularly given the post-Biden economic turnaround. Yet all five are in jeopardy. For no good reason, other than a president who cannot keep his thin-skinned ego in check.