In 2006, Republicans Lost Big in the Midterm Election. The Situation Looks Similar Now.

by | Oct 15, 2026

The midterm election coming up in November is looking bad for Republicans. This is supported by polling. It also is supported by similarities between the situation in America now and the situation twenty years ago.

Merrill Matthews described in a Wednesday USA Today editorial parallels between now and then that portend trouble for Republican candidates:

A Republican president is facing his second midterm elections. His popularity is in the tank, in part because he took the country into a costly, unpopular war he thought would end quickly. Inflation is too high and federal spending under his party has exploded. The economy, while reasonably strong, faces headwinds. His party could be headed for a major defeat in November.

You may think I’m describing President Donald Trump. I’m actually describing President George W. Bush in 2006, when a blue wave cost Republicans dozens of seats and handed Democrats control of the House and the Senate, along with a majority of governorships and a string of state legislatures.

You can read the editorial here.

Author

  • Adam Dick

    Adam worked from 2003 through 2013 as a legislative aide for Rep. Ron Paul. Previously, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Board of Elections, a co-manager of Ed Thompson's 2002 Wisconsin governor campaign, and a lawyer in New York and Connecticut.

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