In 1969, President Richard Nixon gave a major speech, asking for the American people's support for the war in Vietnam. In that speech, President Nixon called for continued American support for the country of South Vietnam, as he put it, until that country could stand on its own and fend off its communist attackers.
That didn't end up happening, but there was a turn of phrase Nixon used in that speech that ended up being a label for millions of ordinary Americans. These were people who weren't necessarily involved in politics; working people, people who made things, people who fixed things, people who owned homes and were raising families. A lot of these people were only involved with politics on the last few days before they voted. Many of them, outside of the ones in the military, didn't have any interaction with the federal government other than filing their income taxes and going to the post office.
Nixon called them the Silent Majority, and there still is a silent majority, today. And in this 2026 midterm election, on the day in which I write this, we may see them rising up once more.
It's an interesting possibility.
Here's the thing: There are a number of polls out there trying to determine what American voters see as the most important issues of the day, and thereby of this election. Now polls are frequently off-base, especially when they are asking people to rank issues in order of importance when some people change their minds on these issues more frequently than they change their socks. Healthcare may be the top issue for one voter today, but then the next day they have to fill up their gas tank, and then suddenly the economy is issue #1. But most of the polls, including this recent one, tend to list three things as the top issues: The cost of living/inflation, the economy in general, and healthcare.
Cost of living/Inflation leads Economy, the second-ranked issue, by 15 points, and no other issue draws more than one in four likely voters. Beyond the top five, only Trust in government/Corruption/Transparency (16%) and Jobs/Employment (15%) reach 15%. Most remaining issues fall between 5% and 12%, with Abortion and Racial justice each at 5%.
There isn't a lot of difference among voters in the two major parties, or independents.
Cost of living/Inflation is the top issue for Democrats (54%), independents (47%), and Republicans (44%). Economy ranks second for all three groups at 33%. About one in five in each group chooses U.S.-Iran conflict, ranging from 20% to 23%.
So, you may well be wondering, what does that have to do with this midterm election, and the odds of the Republican Party holding the House of Representatives and the Senate?
Well, the two major parties have some built-in advantages in some issues. Generally speaking, Americans in most surveys trust Democrats (probably wrongly, but even so) more on healthcare, inflation and the cost of living, and "looking out for people like me," which I guess I would define as "Americans." Republicans are trusted more on immigration and "getting things done," which is something of an eyebrow-raiser when you contemplate the fact that the SAVE America Act is still languishing somewhere in a filing cabinet in the Senate.
There may be some pitfalls in this for Republicans. Many people, including a lot that we count among the Silent Majority, don't pay much attention to politics until the last few weeks running up to an election. But Americans of all ages, sexes and income levels are seeing one issue literally illuminated with colored neon lights everywhere they go, and that's gasoline prices. Yes, they were at times worse under the previous administration, but a lot of folks don't look back that far; they're concerned with what is hitting them in the wallet today. But then, there's the overt looniness that seems to be permeating the Democrat Party from top to bottom; the advocacy for men in women's sports, to their support for unchecked and unscreened illegal immigration, to the parades of pink and purple-haired nuts trying to interfere with law enforcement, some candidate's overt antisemitism and refusal to denounce Islamism, and one of the biggest issues, the Democrat Party's undying opposition to any kind of election integrity legislation, despite the fact that Americans of every demographic support such legislation by a 4-1 margin, despite the election shenanigans we are already seeing in jurisdictions as disparate as California and my own Alaska. If anything will tip these midterm elections towards the GOP, it will be these matters. And, mind you, there are still a few moderate Democrats who are already peeling away from a party whose Overton Window has moved left off the map altogether, into HERE BE MONSTERS territory.
So, today, as I write this, the people are having their say. Today, as I write this, the Silent Majority is being heard. Now, it's a matter of waiting to see what choices they and the other voters make. Late tonight, tomorrow morning for sure, we should know what the results are. And then we will know what we'll have to do next.
