Opinion

Republicans have a midterm problem. Reagan’s American vision is the answer

The president's party has lost House seats in 18 of 20 midterm elections since 1946, with only two exceptions

By Frank Miniter Fox News

Published September 30, 2026 9:00am EDT

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 President Donald Trump gives his message to voters before midterm elections while taking questions in the Oval Office.

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Now in the autumn of this critical political season, a midterm loss of Congress for Republicans feels inevitable, as the last five midterm elections saw the party in power lose seats in Congress.

This trend goes back even longer than the 2000s. Since 1946, the president’s party has lost seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 18 of 20 midterm elections (90% of the time).

President Donald Trump ran into this trend in his first term when, in 2018, Republicans lost 41 seats in the House — though they did gain two seats in the U.S. Senate.

MIDTERM HISTORY MASSIVELY FAVORS DEMOCRATS. BUT THEY ARE MAKING A BIG MISTAKE

Despite the pattern, a loss is not inevitable. Consider Ronald Reagan’s 1980 election eve address "A Vision for America." This speech came at a time of great national peril and discontentment, so, to give clarity to his positive vision, Reagan drew on American heroes from astronauts to John Wayne:

"Last year I lost a friend who was more than a symbol of the Hollywood dream industry; to millions he was a symbol........

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