2 midterm elections that brought on new eras in US politics

The piece revisits the 1874 and 1894 midterms, when Democrats and then Republicans respectively picked up over 90 and over 100 House seats, reshaping American politics for decades. The 1874 wave set up the end of Reconstruction two years later, while the 1894 wave ushered in Republican dominance that lasted until the New Deal.

For 2026, the article notes Democrats don't need anything close to those margins; a swing of just a handful of districts would flip House control, given how closely divided and gerrymandered the current map is. It also notes every president in the last 80 years who was underwater in approval polling, which currently includes Trump, has lost House seats in the following midterm, with the smallest such loss being five seats.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.