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Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 195

Shake Up

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 195: Shake Up

Younger Candidates Win Big in 2026 Midterms

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“The 2026 midterm elections delivered a solid blue wave for Democrats along with a new class of noticeably younger candidates across the board, beating out both new and incumbent senior opponents,” NewsNation reports.

“Whether it was James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa in Texas, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Annie Andrews in South Carolina, Melat Kiros in Colorado or Josh Turek in Iowa, young candidates across the country — especially Democrats — defeated older and more experienced opponents in their respective races.”

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Republicans Couldn’t Buy Their Way Out of Defeat

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Talking PointsRepublicans poured billions of dollars into the 2026 midterm elections, outspent Democrats by nearly half a billion dollars, and still suffered one of the most devastating electoral defeats in modern American history.

It was a spectacular demonstration of the limits of money in politics.

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Influencing the Masses

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INFLUENCING THE MASSES: The Psychological Techniques a Handful of People Use to Steer Billions of Minds by Klaus Brenner.

“In 1895 a French doctor, Gustave Le Bon, published a book about how crowds move. Mussolini kept it on his bedside table. Hitler put it to work. Lenin annotated it in the margins. Thirty years later, in New York, Sigmund Freud’s nephew applied those same ideas to advertising: he persuaded millions of American women to smoke, millions of American men to eat bacon for breakfast, and the United States government to overthrow the government of Guatemala. His name was Edward Bernays, and his manual is still in use. Advertisers use it. Political parties use it. Social platforms use it. The algorithms in your phone use it.”

“Influencing the Masses reconstructs that manual from the first page to the last.”

INFLUENCING THE MASSES
The Psychological Techniques a Handful of People Use to Steer Billions of Minds
by Klaus Brenner · Aternal · 2026
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Democratic Thrashing Redraws the Map of State Power

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Politico: “The victories give Democrats an opening to pursue long-stalled agendas on housing costs and public education, along with new leverage in fights over taxing wealthy people and corporations and regulating artificial intelligence. Their gains will also reshape the country’s redistricting wars — and test whether Democrats can turn their backlash-fueled victories into changes voters can feel in their daily lives.”

For members: Democrats Now Dominate State Governments

Another Bonus Quote of the Day

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“We don’t have time to sit there and just celebrate what happened on Tuesday. People need us to start this work now and start addressing the things that they wanted to address.”

— Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), quoted by Politico.

Abdul El-Sayed Calls Trump an ‘Unserious Fool’

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“Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed said Sunday that Democrats will work with President Donald Trump to help the American people if ‘he wants to act serious,’ but if the president instead chooses ‘foolishness,’ the incoming senator said he will not find a willing partner in Congress,” ABC News reports.

Said El-Sayed: “Let’s talk about how he is an unserious fool. Think about this war in Iran that every single president had resisted fighting because, of course, it was a dumb idea. Let’s talk about the foolishness of a tariff war with Canada.. Let’s talk about the foolishness of gutting Medicaid to pass tax cuts for the richest people in America.”

Trump Says Return to War with Iran ‘Highly Unlikely’

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“President Trump revealed Sunday it is ‘highly unlikely’ that the U.S. will resume the war in Iran as long as talks over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program continue to make progress,” the New York Post reports.

Said Trump: “It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement. The answer is highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary. They’re a failing nation. It just came out, you saw this year, 301% inflation. Highly unlikely it will be necessary.”

He added: “So it’s highly unlikely I’ll have to. They’re withering away financially. We’ve hit them militarily. We could finish them off.”

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Democrats Now Dominate State Governments

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Talking PointsThe Democrats didn’t just win a historic landslide last week. They fundamentally redrew the nation’s political map, seizing control of state governments on a scale that will reshape American politics for years to come.

The numbers are staggering.

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Talking Points is my analysis of the political landscape, written only for Political Wire members.

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Todd Blanche Won’t Rule Out Charging Lawmakers

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“Attorney General Todd Blanche refused Sunday to rule out prosecuting Democratic lawmakers who say they’ll investigate Trump officials, a day after President Trump ordered the Justice Department to probe lawmakers,” Axios reports.

“The confrontation threatens a constitutional crisis over the separation of powers: Trump is ordering prosecutors to go after lawmakers in a potential effort to hamper Congress’ power to hold the executive branch accountable.”

At Least 97 Capitol Rioters Accused of New Crimes

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Steve Benen: “It’s been nearly 22 months since Donald Trump pardoned every convicted and accused Jan. 6 rioter, and in that time, quite a few of those who received presidential clemency have run into fresh trouble with the law. In fact, Lawfare, a nonprofit publication covering the legal world, published a study over the summer that found at least 97 people charged with crimes in connection with the assault on the Capitol have since been accused of new crimes.”

“Since that tally was released, the list has continued to grow.”

Gingrich Says Democrats Must Work with Trump

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“Democrats could bomb out of the 2028 election if they move further left and refuse to work with President Trump after their sweeping midterm victories, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said,” the New York Post reports.

Said Gingrich: “Bernie Sanders … intends to drive as hard as he can to get a very left-wing Congress. That would be a profound mistake for the Democrats.”

He added: “If the country is reminded how cuckoo these people are, by 2028 they are going to be much more willing to vote for Republicans.”

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Why Schumer and Jeffries Aren’t Going Anywhere

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Talking PointsSome Democrats are already calling for new leadership in Congress, arguing that incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and incoming House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries aren’t aggressive enough, progressive enough or particularly inspiring.

But these complaints largely misunderstand what congressional leaders actually do.

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Talking Points is my analysis of the political landscape, written only for Political Wire members.

  • Talking Points analysis
  • No ads on any page
  • Trending News, the Polling Dashboard and the Political Calendar
  • Inside Elections and Ballot Access News
  • The Trial Balloon podcast

See membership plans

Slotkin Declines to Rule Out Senate Leadership Bid

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“Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) on Saturday declined to rule out a Senate leadership bid and remained noncommittal on backing Chuck Schumer as majority leader,” Politico reports.

Said Slotkin: “Given what happened on election night, there’s a pretty clear mandate that people want a new generation of leadership, and they want to know what the plan is to actually help their lives. So one way or another, I want to see that.”

The Justice Department Braces for Congressional Scrutiny

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“During the first two years of President Donald Trump’s second term, the Justice Department has been on the front lines of some of his most contentious actions, pursuing his perceived foes and agenda with relish and little pushback or oversight from Congressional leaders,” the Washington Post reports.

“The next two years will likely be dramatically different.”

“As Democrats prepare to take control of the House and Senate following sweeping victories in the midterm elections, the Justice Department is bracing for a barrage of subpoenas and investigative inquiries as lawmakers say they will aggressively scrutinize the agency in a way Republicans did not while in the majority.”

Quote of the Day

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“Take, for example, the French Revolution. Remember when Marie Antoinette said, ‘Let them eat cake’? Now, is that a problem of accountability and tyranny, a corrupt government? Or is it a problem of affordability and standard of living? It’s both! Authoritarianism and tyranny are extremely expensive for the people. And it’s the exact same thing when you go down the line with Donald Trump. So, are we going to go after the corruption? Yeah, you’re damn right. And are we going to go after affordability and making people’s lives easier? Yeah, you’re damn right. We’re going to do both of them.”

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), quoted by CBS News.

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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