Merged 2026 Mid-Term election outcomes: US Congress

[Random]

There are some who think/hope the same thing might happen in Texas. Democratic gains nationwide and within the state might make the 'safe' gerrymandered districts more competitive than they were planning.

I think the phrase is "Dummymander". The packing and cracking of votes that you engage in with gerrymandering is supposed to leave you with a majority of districts that vote with a small majority for your party and a minority of districts that vote overwhelmingly for the other. But since you are not actually convincing more people to vote for you with gerrymandering, the more districts you try to create that vote for your party, the thinner the winning margins in those districts will be. If you make ten of your eleven districts R+5, and get hit with a D+10 wave...

 

[Gulliver Foyle]

I think the phrase is "Dummymander". The packing and cracking of votes that you engage in with gerrymandering is supposed to leave you with a majority of districts that vote with a small majority for your party and a minority of districts that vote overwhelmingly for the other. But since you are not actually convincing more people to vote for you with gerrymandering, the more districts you try to create that vote for your party, the thinner the winning margins in those districts will be. If you make ten of your eleven districts R+5, and get hit with a D+10 wave...

Over here it's the Tullymander, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_(Amendment)_Act_1974

 

[dann]

There are some who think/hope the same thing might happen in Texas. Democratic gains nationwide and within the state might make the 'safe' gerrymandered districts more competitive than they were planning.

And not just in Texas:

GOP redistricting could backfire as urban, immigrant areas turn back to Democrats (Stateline, Dec 24, 2025)
Voters in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia cities shifted away from Republicans this year.

It is astonishing how dumb some candidates in American elections are. In Denmark, we once had a guy whose campaign promise was bicycle lanes with tailwind, but he was a well-known comedian and his campaign slogan was meant as a joke:

Jacob Haugaard (Wikipedia)
Among his pointedly absurd campaign promises were: 8 hours of free time, 8 hours of rest and 8 hours of sleep; more tailwind on bicycle paths; promises of better weather; right to impotency; Nutella in field rations (which was actually implemented); and shorter queues in supermarkets. Asylum rated his win in the parliamentary election the 11th greatest prank of all time. When his portrait was hung in the parliament, Haugaard commented that it should serve as a warning that any idiotic populist might get elected.

These guys, however, ...

D-List Celebs & Fringy Influencers Run for Office in the Midterms (The Daily Show on YouTube, April 23, 2026 – 8:46 min.)
With the 2026 midterms fast approaching, Ronny Chieng sifts through the record number of D-list celebrities and influencer freaks announcing their candidacies, including reality TV bad boy Spencer Pratt, former "Teen Mom" star Farrah Abraham, and manosphere antisemite Dan Bilzerian.

 

[shemp]

Taking a quick look at what it would take to flip the Senate. The Democrats need to turn four red seats to blue, while avoiding losing any of their existing seats. The consensus seems to be that the four most likely to turn are Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Alaska:

Maine: Susan Collins was first elected 30 years ago, and has won four times since then, although 2020 saw her lowest margin of victory (8%) since 1996. Polling pretty consistently shows her likely opponent, Graham Platner, beating her like a drum (the RCP average shows him winning by 7.2%), although it should be pointed out that Platner is a newcomer and relatively unvetted. Still this one looks likely D.

Platner's opponent in the primary, Governor Janet Mills, has withdrawn from the race due to lack of funds and poor polling.

Maine Gov. Mills drops Democratic US Senate bid against Platner, lamenting a lack of campaign funds

Democratic Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner says he hopes to work with Gov. Janet Mills to turn Republican Sen.

apnews.com

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday dropped her bid for the U.S. Senate, pointing to a lack of campaign funds to keep up in one of the most competitive races in the country that quickly became a reflection of an internal party debate over which candidates can win in high-profile contests.

The move now thrusts political newcomer Graham Platner, an oyster farmer almost no one knew a year ago, as the expected Democratic front-runner against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins, whose seat Democrats are targeting in their effort to win control of the closely divided Senate.

“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight – to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” Mills said in a statement. “That is why today I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the United States Senate.”

Mills, a two-term governor and longtime Maine politician, was seen as one of Democrats’ top 2026 recruits when she entered the Senate race last year. She had the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and prominent left-leaning advocacy groups hoping to unseat Collins in the chamber, which has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats.

Note to Dem leaders: In a time when people are sick and tired of old leadership, it's not a good idea to endorse a 78-year-old for a first Senate term.

 

[PitPat]

Platner's opponent in the primary, Governor Janet Mills, has withdrawn from the race due to lack of funds and poor polling.

Maine Gov. Mills drops Democratic US Senate bid against Platner, lamenting a lack of campaign funds

Democratic Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner says he hopes to work with Gov. Janet Mills to turn Republican Sen.

apnews.com

That's kind why I think the Senate will still be GOP-controlled but by maybe just a one vote margin.

 

[The Atheist]

Note to Dem leaders: In a time when people are sick and tired of old leadership, it's not a good idea to endorse a 78-year-old for a first Senate term.

Maybe etch that into their brains with a laser cutter.

They learned nothing from 2024.

 

[Segnosaur]

Note to Dem leaders: In a time when people are sick and tired of old leadership, it's not a good idea to endorse a 78-year-old for a first Senate term.

Yes, nominating yet another senior citizen seems counter to the idea of getting "new blood" into congress.

But there are disadvantages. Mills was "vetted". Any skeletons she had in her closet were exposed. Anx she was an experienced politician.

Plantner may end up being a good/successful politician. But there is a chance he may make neophyte mistakes. We have already seen him having to deal with a nazi-related tattoo. It worries me that he may run into problems in the general election and won't hsvd the skills/experience to deal with it.

And what happens if/when he gets to congress? Does he have the knowledge to "get things done" or will he spend months/years trying to figure out the various rules in congress/the senate? Will he have the ability to make political connections? Will he be immune from political manipulation?

 

[Segnosaur]

Maybe etch that into their brains with a laser cutter.

They learned nothing from 2024.

Let's see...

Lots of people claim they are tired of "old" politicians hanging around.

Yet in the 2024 presidential election, voters rejected a younger candidate (in her 50s, relatively young for the office) in favor of a candidate decades older and exhibiting signs of severe mental decline.

I think the lesson to be learned by 2024 is "maybe don't pay so much attention to people when they complain about old candidates" since it may not really be a significant factor. They will claim they want younger people representing them but vote for the same ancient politicians they would have anyways.

 

[Beelzebuddy]

Yes, nominating yet another senior citizen seems counter to the idea of getting "new blood" into congress.

But there are disadvantages. Mills was "vetted". Any skeletons she had in her closet were exposed. Anx she was an experienced politician.

Plantner may end up being a good/successful politician. But there is a chance he may make neophyte mistakes. We have already seen him having to deal with a nazi-related tattoo. It worries me that he may run into problems in the general election and won't hsvd the skills/experience to deal with it.

And what happens if/when he gets to congress? Does he have the knowledge to "get things done" or will he spend months/years trying to figure out the various rules in congress/the senate? Will he have the ability to make political connections? Will he be immune from political manipulation?

It's not going to be "neophyte mistakes." He's a GOP plant. Another Sinema setup. The second he gets into office he's going to turn hard-right fascist. How is this not absolutely obvious to everyone? This MFer's got more red flags than a Soviet parade.

 

[The Atheist]

Let's see...

They will claim they want younger people representing them but vote for the same ancient politicians they would have anyways.

Another vote for the status quo.

FWIW, I think Harris benefitted from a "youth" vote, but the Dems' SNAFU was far too big to be solved by her age.

 

[The Atheist]

This MFer's got more red flags than a Soviet parade.

But he's a changed man!

Might even be true.

 

[Beelzebuddy]

But he's a changed man!

Might even be true.

To be clear, I will be happy to be wrong in my misgivings if he turns out to be genuine. I concede it is possible to innocently get a Nazi tattoo without realizing that it is a Nazi tattoo. That just ain't the timeline we seem to be in these days.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Sen. Ron Johnson: "Democrats want to turn America into a one party nation. They'll turn DC and Puerto Rico into states. They'll nationalize our elections -- automatic registration, mail in balloting. So we need to stop them."

video in link

 

[azazal]

Sen. Ron Johnson: "Democrats want to turn America into a one party nation. They'll turn DC and Puerto Rico into states. They'll nationalize our elections -- automatic registration, mail in balloting. So we need to stop them."

video in link

I'm trying to see the downside of this, anyone.. anyone??

 

[Donal]

Sen. Ron Johnson: "Democrats want to turn America into a one party nation. They'll turn DC and Puerto Rico into states. They'll nationalize our elections -- automatic registration, mail in balloting. So we need to stop them."

video in link

Other than his Weak Orange Daddy trying to nationalize elections...

What's wrong with any of that other stuff?

 

[Segnosaur]

Yes, nominating yet another senior citizen seems counter to the idea of getting "new blood" into congress.

But there are disadvantages. Mills was "vetted". Any skeletons she had in her closet were exposed. Anx she was an experienced politician.

Plantner may end up being a good/successful politician. But there is a chance he may make neophyte mistakes.

It's not going to be "neophyte mistakes." He's a GOP plant. Another Sinema setup. The second he gets into office he's going to turn hard-right fascist. How is this not absolutely obvious to everyone? This MFer's got more red flags than a Soviet parade.

I am not discounting the possibility that Platner might "take a turn to the right" if elected. (Yes, we saw that with Sinema, and we are seeing that with Fetterman.) And since he has never held public office before, he doesn't really have a voting record to go on.

I don't really know much about him, but from browsing his wikipedia page, he had been using various "left wing" talking points for years before he joined the senate race, so if he is a republican "plant" it would have been a long-term orchastrated thing. (And he has managed to get people like Sanders, a long-term "leftist" to endorse him, and you figure Sanders has been around a long time so you would hope he has the instincts to recognize someone who might doublecross them.)

To me, he sounded more like some sort of "edge-lord" than a "republican plant".

 

[Segnosaur]

To be clear, I will be happy to be wrong in my misgivings if he turns out to be genuine. I concede it is possible to innocently get a Nazi tattoo without realizing that it is a Nazi tattoo. That just ain't the timeline we seem to be in these days.

I think one of the problems with the "nazi tatoo" are some of the conflicting stories that have come out about it.

Platner claims he got it not knowing the significance of it (which, as you said, might have been possible). But, there have been reports that he actually referred to the tatoo as "my totenkopf". (The source for that was anonymous, but CNN published it, so you would assume they would have done at least some verification.)

Plus, online he defended military people that had the "SS" tatoo as it simply being some sort of "military cultural thing".

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/politics/graham-platner-nazi-tattoo-evidence-kfile-invs

 

[The Great Zaganza]

it's not hard to modify an existing tattoo to be less offensive.
It's a choice not to do so once you are aware that it is offensive.

 

[Segnosaur]

Let's see...

They will claim they want younger people representing them but vote for the same ancient politicians they would have anyways.

Another vote for the status quo.

Please define "status quo". In what context are you referring?

Both Biden and Trump were very old candidates when they ran for the presidency. But both politicians have run their administration VERRRY differently. Biden pushed for investment in green energy, wanted to stabilize obamacare, had the government invest in technology. Trump follows the mantra "drill baby drill", had millions lose health care, and could not pass an infrastructure bill to save his life.

Heck, it could be argued that a vote for Trump was a vote for "upsetting" the status quo.... and how is that working out for you?

For all the talk of how people want "change", I think the fact is, most of them like MOST of how the government worked. (Well, that is, until stubby mcbonespurs and his merry klan took charge.)

FWIW, I think Harris benefitted from a "youth" vote, but the Dems' SNAFU was far too big to be solved by her age.

Did she? Do you have any evidence for that?

You are talking about the possibility of getting rid of "old" (but reliable, well tested) democrats in favor of younger candidates. Before you do so, you might to have an idea that it will be a successful strategy.

Between 2020 and 2024, Trump increased his percentage of the under-30 vote by 6%. (Overall, more young people still wanted Harris, but it was a smaller percentage of the voter base than the ones who voted for the (much older) Biden in 2020.)

 

[shemp]

I think one of the problems with the "nazi tatoo" are some of the conflicting stories that have come out about it.

Platner claims he got it not knowing the significance of it (which, as you said, might have been possible). But, there have been reports that he actually referred to the tatoo as "my totenkopf". (The source for that was anonymous, but CNN published it, so you would assume they would have done at least some verification.)

Plus, online he defended military people that had the "SS" tatoo as it simply being some sort of "military cultural thing".

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/politics/graham-platner-nazi-tattoo-evidence-kfile-invs

People can change, especially as they get out of youth and start building a life for themselves and their family. I think he's genuine, and Bernie's endorsement is good enough for me.