I’ve been surprised by the number people who have asked me to weigh in on the 2026 election season. Summarizing and paraphrasing, folks seem to be asking two basic questions:
- Do Democrats have a chance in Hell of winning, well, anything?
- What can a normal person do that might move the ball in the general direction of sanity?
Frankly, I’m mostly surprised that anyone still gives a shit about my opinions. I admittedly let this blog languish in the wake of the 2024 debacle. All of my subsequent attempts at issue-oriented posts quickly digressed into profanity-laden missives that were unworthy of even this infinitesimal corner of the Internet. I grew increasingly weary of attempting Headline Whack-A-Mole – swinging wildly at a never-ending progression of verminous governmental actions that were idiotic, narcissistic, malicious, dangerous, and/or unequivocally evil. It just wasn’t fun.
Eventually, I do hope to again find joy in posting minimally-coherent, issue-oriented rants. In the meantime, however, perhaps the best use of this space is indeed an analytical focus on 2026 elections. As part of my own personal response to Question 2 above, I can at least give it a shot.
As for Question 1, the short answer is “Probably yes.” Knocking on all available wood surfaces, Democrats do currently appear to have at least a fighting chance of gaining control of some portion of government. Unfortunately, it’s too early to prognosticate with any significant degree of confidence.
Candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and various state offices are still being decided in a plethora of on-going party primaries lasting into September. Some U.S. House candidates don’t even yet know in which district they will run. (For those emerging from under a rock: Six SCOTUS justices decided earlier this year that the Jim Crow racial caste system was actually a pretty damn good idea and, accordingly, trashed the 60-year-old Voting Rights Act. As a result, U.S. House Districts are being hastily redrawn in several states to heavily favor white Republicans at the expense of Black representation.)
Each individual race will have its own unique set of important variables: the two candidates themselves, their campaigns’ competence & funding, their party’s support (federal, state, & local), the top of their state’s ticket, the demographics & economics of each district/state, etc. Variables abound, many with values still TBD. Furthermore, late-game executive actions attempting to limit voting rights, intimidate voters, and influence vote counts are, sadly, all-but-guaranteed in our current reality.
All that said, if I didn’t have a gut belief in a potentially positive outcome, I wouldn’t even bother to do the research to address Question 2.
With respect to that query, individual campaigns will most often provide the best targets for those who want to offer their assistance. For anyone with the time, energy, and inclination, political campaigns can always use warm bodies to support get-out-the-vote efforts. Campaign websites will have information about volunteering and it’s very important work. For others, monetary donations made directly to individual campaigns are likely to be the most effective way to show support.
At the moment, though, I’m largely keeping my powder dry and my cash allotment for 2026 political donations in the bank. I certainly have some preferred candidates, but I’m content to let the primaries run their course without my involvement. Personally, I’d rather my money be used against Republicans in the general election.
Even where we know the candidates, we might not yet understand the complete political landscape (at the district, state, and/or federal level) in which the general election campaign will be conducted.
Our goal is to win 51 seats in the Senate, 218 seats in the House, and Governor’s races in battleground states. As the primaries wind down, I’ll start analyzing which Senate, House, and Governor races are winnable / defendable and which are likely to make the best use of additional campaign donations to reach as many of those goals as possible. I’ll post my selections with their ActBlue donations links for anyone that might want to make political contributions to specific campaigns.
There are also a few decent political action committees that could be deserving of donations and I’ll note them as appropriate. Fair warning, though, that many PACs these days have excessive overhead and, IMHO, aren’t often the best use of individual donations.
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend donating directly to the Democratic party and their associated PACs. If Democrats in D.C. were better organized and had better leadership, this election cycle would be a whole lot easier. We’d be in a much better position if Democrats had adopted a plan similar to what I suggested over a year ago. Of if they’d just adopted a plan. Any plan.
Instead, we’re largely winging it and counting on the fact that we’re not quite as dysfunctional as Republicans. And, just maybe, that’ll be enough.