August 8, 2025

I’m old enough to remember when Labor Day of an even-numbered year marked the unofficial start of campaign season. Well, times have certainly changed. It’s a so-called “off year,” it's the first week of August, and the midterms are already up and running. 

Everywhere we looked this week, signs of a massive mobilization toward the 2026 election were already evident. Strangely, this is all happening before candidates have even entered many key races. This isn’t normal — but then again, what even is normal anymore?

Traditionally, the party in power uses the first twenty months after an election to set a legislative and policy agenda. The first 100 days might focus on a signature piece of legislation, followed by a series of smaller but meaningful priorities. Only when those are exhausted — and the majority no longer needs cooperation from the minority — does the tone usually turn bitterly partisan.

But the second Trump administration is different. Aside from pushing through a massive, unpopular budget bill, Trump has shown little interest in enacting legislation. Instead, he prefers to govern through executive orders and social media posts.

This approach has...

• Trump’s pressure campaign for other states to gerrymander
  
  
• The 72-hour meltdown in Texas and what it signals for 2026
  
  
• Why Democrats may have a rare opening to flip 20+ seats
  
  
• What the DOJ’s secretive push for voter data could really mean