Midterms May Not Be Big Blue Wave After All, New Poll Shows

The 2026 midterms may not be shaping up to be a wipeout for the Democratic Party, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 46% of Americans aged 50 and older — who tend to participate more in non-presidential elections than younger voters — said they were planning to vote for the Republican candidate in their congressional district in the midterms. Meanwhile, just 38% of U.S. voters aged 50 and up said they intend to vote for a Democratic congressional candidate, according to the survey.

The newly released survey “shows there is still a lot of work ahead for Democrats to unify their base and to demonstrate they can meet the moment,” Joel Payne, a longtime Democratic strategist, told Reuters.

In December 2021, older U.S. voters favored Republicans by 43%, compared with 42% who viewed Democrats more favorably, Reuters reported. Comparatively, Democrats notched a lead among older Americans during the same month ahead of the 2018 election, 40% to 38%, according to Reuters.

Moreover, 42% of voters thought Republicans had better economic policy, while 34% said the same about Democrats, according to Reuters’ polling.

The poll also found that Democrats only had a one-point advantage over Republicans when respondents were asked which party had better policy on the cost of living — an