Why The Midterms Will Be Disappointing

The Politics Guys

Michael Baranowski

Politics, News

4.4 • 783 Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mike is joined by special guest Corey Nathan, creator and host of the Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other podcast. They discuss why the coming midterm elections are likely to leave most Americans dissatisfied, even under optimistic partisan scenarios, arguing that while Democrats may plausibly retake the House and even have an outside shot at the Senate, structural realities—uncompetitive districts, polarized primaries, fundraising incentives, and institutional constraints like the filibuster—limit the likelihood of meaningful change; Corey emphasizes concerns about election integrity and democratic norms, along with a desire for accountability and constitutional order, while also expressing cautious optimism about independent-minded legislators and cross-partisan cooperation emerging at state and local levels, whereas Mike stresses deeper systemic forces that reward conflict, discourage reform, and make Congress resistant to change; together they explore possible but unlikely paths to less disappointing outcomes—from weakening the filibuster to institutional reforms—while ultimately converging on a modest, process-oriented hope that incremental progress, civic engagement, and good-faith dialogue may be the most realistic way forward in a system structurally biased toward frustration. Check out Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:40.7	Welcome to politics guys. I'm political scientist Michael Baranowski, an emeritus professor at North Kentucky University.
0:48.5	My guest today is Corey Nathan. Corey's been on the show a few times before. He is the host of a fantastic politics, a fantastic
0:57.4	podcast with really the favorite title of any podcast I think I've ever seen talking politics and
1:04.5	religion without killing each other. What a title. Corey, it's great to have you back on the show.
1:09.6	It's good to be with you again, Michael. How you doing, man? I hope you're holding up okay. Thanks so much. I'm hanging in there.
1:16.2	And, you know, we've been thinking, I've been thinking a lot about the midterm elections.
1:23.4	And it occurred to me in sort of a flash of, I don't know if you want to call it insight,
1:27.7	maybe, maybe not, that no matter what happens with these midterm elections,
1:34.2	most of us are going to end up sorely disappointed.
1:38.8	And it seemed to me that that was the great sort of basis for a conversation.
1:46.9	And Corey, I couldn't think of anyone I would rather have the conversation with than you. So if you're up for it, why don't we just jump in?
1:53.3	Let's jump in. I mean, where do you want me to start? Well, I guess let's start maybe with
2:00.5	kind of where we are right now and what we think is going to
2:05.6	happen. And then from there, maybe why in a sense, it's not going to matter a heck of a lot in a lot of ways.
2:12.1	So for instance, here's my view of the midterms is that it's almost certain that Democrats are going to regain control of the House. I mean, over the last the midterms, is that it's almost certain that Democrats are going to regain
2:18.3	control of the House. I mean, over the last 10 midterm elections, it's a long time, the party
	...

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