Time to Beat the Fascists
This week is the 2026 midterm election, which by most projections I’ve seen appears to be headed for a major Democratic sweep, giving them control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. I don’t have a preferred single source, but here’s one that seems representative of the consensus.
Where I live, in San Francisco, there are some city propositions that matter a great deal to me (Vote No on G), and the state and federal matters will also have an impact on my life and the rest of the country in various ways. I have voted in every single primary and election for which I was eligible to vote since I lived in North Carolina — and then, I believe I missed a sole local off year election — because my vote is one of the key privileges of citizenship, and if I don’t use it, the people with whom I disagree are more influential, by definition.
At the same time, stepping back a bit, I’m fascinated by the idea that larger socio-economic tides shape American elections in ways most people don’t consciously perceive. What people feel about the country’s economy is a heavy influence on whether and how they vote, and, notably, that can be detached from more objective measures of economic well-being. For those paying attention to American politics over the past 40 years, none of this should be new.
