Midterm battle

In the past 40 years, the political party that controls the White House and the U.S. House of Representatives has retained control in only 2 of 10 midterm election cycles. President Bill Clinton (1998) and President George W. Bush (2002) are the only two presidents in the past four decades to accomplish this feat. When it comes to applying the same standard of review to the U.S. Senate, the president’s party has been able to retain control of the Senate during 5 of the past 10 midterm cycles.
With decades of redistricting, otherwise known as gerrymandering, the number of U.S. House seats that are truly competitive has been reduced to roughly 18, according to the Cook Political Report. States with the most toss-up races are Pennsylvania, Arizona, Iowa, and New York.

A divided backdrop
Republican and Democratic Party favorability ratings are nearly tied, with 39.3% favoring the Republican Party and 38.1% favoring the Democratic Party, according to RealClearPolling, an aggregate of national polls from outlets such as Fox News, CNBC, and Pew Research.
Over the past few presidential cycles, Republicans have done better in downballot races when President Donald Trump was also on the ballot. While not the case in the midterm elections, Trump has said he will campaign as if it were a presidential cycle.

Common sense vs. socialism
The Republican Party seems to be the commonsense party today, especially when it comes to handling immigration and economic policies. For example, as of press time, no illegal immigrants had been released at the southern border since May 2025. The Biden administration, on the other hand, released nearly 600,000 illegal immigrants who were apprehended at the border during roughly a two-year period.
Pew Research found postive polls regarding the Trump administration’s approach to border enforcement, with 58% supporting an increased military presence on the border and 59% approving increased efforts to deport illegal immigrants.
From an economic perspective, in 2025, Republicans passed the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which extends and expands the original tax law from Trump’s first term. The 2018 tax legislation was set to expire during Trump’s second term. This resulted in 97% of tax filers receiving tax relief.
Another positive economic datapoint for Trump and the Republicans is that the Institute for Supply Management Index, which measures manufacturing growth in the economy, hit a four-year high over the summer.
The Democratic Party, on the other hand, has a socialist problem on its hands. In recent months, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) dominated headlines touting that they want to abolish the U.S. Senate, pack the Supreme Court, eliminate the Electoral College, and topple what they call the “American Empire.”
Francesca Hong, who ran in the 2026 Democratic primary race for Wisconsin governor, stated that she wants to cancel Thanksgiving because it is “painful” to her community. In response to the rise of DSA, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) said, “We are a big-tent party, and being a part of a big-tent party is a strength, not a weakness.”

A time for choosing
This time in American history reflects two distinctly differing views of America’s future. One embraces capitalism, individual liberty, and national interest. The other despises the nation’s founding values and seeks to replace America as we know it with a government-centric, top-down approach to every aspect of life.
Each election is important. November will be a time for choosing. As Christians, we should pray for the future of America, live godly lives in our homes and communities, and vote wisely every chance we get.