On this blog, I discuss important national issues, often pertaining to economic and fiscal matters. In my last post, I predicted that the Republicans would do poorly in this year’s election because, according to a recent pre-election poll, the top concerns of the voters were all anti-Trump (see chart below). And it turned out that I was correct!
Indeed, the election was a blue tsunami, flipping both the House and the Senate from Republican control to Democratic control by wide margins, because of great voter unhappiness with President Trump. His favorability rating (see chart below) declined steadily from 48% in January 2025, when he was inaugurated for his second term, to just 34% in late October 2026. Consider the most important issues:
- Inflation. The latest CPI figure is 3.7% (for September 2026), is still almost double the Federal Reserve target of 2%. Inflation is a double whammy on the cost of housing, because high interest rates mean higher mortgage rates on top of higher home prices. Also, the cost of private healthcare is way too high, creating a huge burden, especially on families with young children. Yes, the Biden administration tripped off our current round of inflation in March of 2021, but Trump’s tariffs are keeping it elevated higher than it otherwise would be.
- Governmental corruption. The pre-election poll above, states that the very top concern of voters is corruption in government. There is a widespread perception that the Trump family is making huge profits by selling access to the president.
- Immigration enforcement. Closing the southern border was a popular Trump accomplishment, but overzealous immigration enforcement by ICE, with riots in the streets, has created a very negative public image.
- Global instability. The wars in Ukraine and Iran have lingered on too long, and the public would like the U.S. President, the leader of the free world, to take a greater role in bringing them to a close.
But now also consider several conservative 2026 voting outcomes in Nebraska:
- By a margin of 68% to 32%, Nebraska voters approved a constitutional amendment to prohibit schools from allowing “students of the male sex” to play on girls sports teams.
- 55% of Nebraska voters opposed a constitutional amendment to legalize mobile sports wagers.
- Conservatives obtain a majority on the Nebraska State Education Board, by a 5-3 margin.
Conclusion. The voters clearly want more oversight of Donald Trump. The Republican Congress has been either unwilling or unable to do this, most likely because of the MAGA influence in the Republican Party. So the voters decided to see if a Democratic Congress can do a better job. “From Roosevelt’s New Deal to the Reagan Revolution, the presidency before Trump was an expression of the high ideals of the republic.” The voters are, overall, very upset by the bad personal behavior of Donald Trump, as well as his many bad policies listed above. At the same time, they have not abandoned many of their basic conservative values.
