Everyone seems to want a reset. Don’t get your hopes up.
Sent to newspapers 8/7/2026
America is due for a reset. What will it look like?
The United States heads into the 2026 midterms with better modeling and data than ever and the outcome is not exactly a nailbiter: the Democrats will take over the House of Representatives with a slim majority (with 221-230 total seats) and have a 50-50 shot of winning the Senate.
But don’t expect a tremendous sea change in policy. The current Republican Congress, with its razor-thin margin, has been helpful primarily in rubber stamping off-budget-sequence reconciliation funding packages and eleventh-hour terrible nominee confirmations. The Democrats, at best, will see a minimal majority in the House and nowhere close to a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate. We can expect more continuing resolutions and gridlock.
Plus articles of impeachment that go nowhere in the Senate. That’s about it.
What will matter is how candidates frame themselves and how the major political parties begin to build their 2028 platforms.
Just as Hollywood seems to have run out of new scripts to write, dooming us to never-ending sequels and treatments of classic sagas, it looks like we might be looking back to 20th century watershed moments to help understand the 2026 and 2028 elections.
President Trump has made references since 2024 that he doesn’t want to be remembered like Herbert Hoover. That’s pretty astute. Hoover was also the last President who dumped tariffs on the world with as heavy a hand as Trump has.
I know, the stock markets keep climbing. This is a precarious rise. Just seven companies – the “Magnificent Seven” – Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet (Google), NVIDIA, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla – drive over a third of the S&P 500 index. There is a lot of breath being held in investment firms.
Despite the “Make America Great Again” message, the theme of second Trump administration is one of uncertainty. Americans are unsettled and frustrated over the upending of governmental norms and the explosion of executive power, extreme American military flexing in Venezuela and the Iran War, militarization within our own borders, and stubborn inflation eating at our paychecks.
This could look like 1932, or 1980. It could also look like 1960.
During the 1960 election cycle, the United States was in a mild recession and the Soviet Union was flexing hard with nuclear weapon development and the initiation of the Soyuz space program to get humans into space. It wasn’t as dramatic a time as the Great Depression, or the inflation of the late 1970s combined with the Iran hostage crisis.
But there was an emerging new medium to be exploited. Television had been around for over a decade. But it hadn’t been used widely for campaigning outside of short canned bits for newsreels. The first televised presidential debate took place in September 1960.
It was the first of four, and it’s the one everyone remembers. Vice President Richard M. Nixon refused makeup, his suit looked bad on camera, and he’d just gotten out of the hospital. Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy was in makeup and looked fresh and vibrant. He won the debate on optics and a strong anti-Soviet message underscoring a moderate Democratic message. Kennedy won the election by less than 120,000 votes of the popular vote but carried 303 electoral votes.
In 2028, there may be debates but broadcast news will be largely over. More than 50% of Americans get their news from social media now. Podcasts and social media will be the channels voters use to get their candidate information. Partisan voters are already plugged into their favorite influencers.
I predict the winning ticket in every Federal race will cross-pollinate the metaverse and get out of their comfort zone to appear on their opponents’ channels. Democrats can’t just stay on BlueSky and Threads; Republicans need to move off of TruthSocial and X.
Because the independents will decide every race. 29% of registered voters are registered as independents or decline to state. And we don’t stick to one-note channels.
I’m not seeing a clear and unified message from the Democratic Party at this point. I see an inter-party struggle between moderates and far-left factions. I see pro-Palestinian factions alienating a long-standing Jewish-American base. But it’s 2026. There’s time to clean this up.
My advice to the campaign teams who want to win in November and again two years later: look up the Nixon-Kennedy debates. Study the first one in particular. Steal every element you can for your candidate for every upcoming podcast. The production values are remarkably similar to 1960 television. Create quick clips for your socials that emulate the same vibes.
Voters sometimes want a reset when they cast their vote. We asked for one in 2024 and I think many of us have buyer’s remorse. Getting the win is not going to be enough for the major parties going forward. As more and more voters leave the Democrats and the Republicans, delivery on key metrics – jobs, stability, security – is going to have to become more important than maintaining caucus majorities.
Because we will keep leaving.
Merritt Hamilton Allen is a PR executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and one of cat. She can be reached at merritt@merrittocracy.news.