The blue wave is coming.
Maybe even a blue tsunami.
At this rate, may want to stop ordering yard signs and start ordering life jackets.
REPUBLICANS FACE BRUTAL MIDTERM HEADWINDS. SIX FORCES COULD HELP THEM DEFY HISTORY.
And look, I get it.
The polls are very good for Democrats right now. The latest has Democrats ahead by 11 points among likely voters on the generic congressional ballot. Reuters/Ipsos has them ahead by among registered voters.
LEE CARTER: I STUDY POLLING. DEMOCRATS ARE GAMBLING ON ANTI-TRUMP VOTES, NOT IDEAS
President Donald Trumps approval rating is struggling. Voters are miserable about prices. Democrats have an enthusiasm advantage.
If youre a Democrat, there is a lot to like.
If youre a Republican, maybe skip ahead a few paragraphs.
But Im a pollster. And when everyone starts looking at the same numbers and reaching the same conclusion, I get a little itchy.
Not because I dont believe the polls.
I do.
The question is whether were asking them to tell us more than they actually can.
The polls are telling us pretty clearly that a lot of Americans are unhappy with Trump.
FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: VOTERS SAY THEYRE IN ECONOMIC PAIN, BUT WILL DEMOCRATS GAIN?
What I dont think theyve answered yet is whether those same Americans believe in the alternative.
And there is a very big difference.
100 DAYS UNTIL MIDTERMS AND DEMOCRATS ARE WINNING BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A MESSAGE
In 2018, Democrats had something wonderfully simple â . Not a framework. Not a 14-point plan. Not a word tested in a focus group until everyone in the room agreed it was “accessible.” A cause.
Republicans had tried to repeal Obamacare. Voters worried about losing coverage and protections for pre-existing conditions.
You could explain the stakes in about eight seconds.
More importantly, you could finish the sentence:
Im voting because ________.
Healthcare filled in the blank.
And it did. Healthcare was the most important issue for more voters than any other issue in polling leading into the 2018 midterms.
So, what fills in the blank in 2026?
Well, Democrats have a word.
Affordability.
MIDTERM HISTORY MASSIVELY FAVORS DEMOCRATS. BUT THEY ARE MAKING A BIG MISTAKE
And it is having quite a year.
Everyone is for affordability.
Democrats are for affordability.
are for affordability.
People who charge $24 for a chopped salad are presumably for affordability.
And voters are absolutely furious about prices.
So, the problem isnt whether voters care about affordability.
They care.
A lot.
The question is: What does affordability mean Democrats are actually going to do?
Because affordability describes the problem beautifully.
It doesnt necessarily describe the
