The past and possibly future blue wave

The 2006 midterm election was a huge “blue wave.” As the night passed, those of us watching the results saw race after closely contested race go to the Democratic candidate. It was a brutal night for Republican candidates in both federal and state elections. And it poses a dire warning for the 2026 midterms.

At the federal level, Democrats regained control of both the Senate (51-49) and the House of Representatives (233-202) — a net gain of 31 House seats.

Democrats entered the election with 22 governorships while Republicans held 28. The election exactly flipped those numbers. And Democrats took total control of four more state chambers, for a total of 23, while Republicans lost state chambers and ended up with total control in only 15 states. 

So, what was going on in 2006 that led to such a Republican rout, and could it be repeated in 2026?

Perhaps most important was the Iraq War. President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He argued that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was a bad guy who had stockpiled weapons of mass destruction.

Bush worked to create an international coalition and made his case to Congress and the American people. But while Hussein was clearly a bad guy who had committed horrible crimes and needed the boot, coalition forces found no weapons of mass destruction. Although the public initially supported the war, by 2006 it was becoming increasingly unpopular, which weighed on the midterm election.

While the Iranian leaders are also bad guys who have committed horrible crimes and need to be ousted, President........

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