Kyle Cave
Staff Writer
On November 5, 2025, several elections were held around the country for different races. Four states were the major focus of Tuesday’s elections, including New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and California. Democrats won all these states, including other smaller elections across the country. This sends a clear message to republicans and Trump, a message that massively rejects his agenda.
Since taking office almost a year ago, the Trump administration has taken numerous actions that have significantly reshaped the federal government and laws. From DOGE firing thousands of federal workers, cuts to federal agencies, the massive uptick in ICE raids and methods of detainment, and much more. Americans have been reacting to this swiftly.
Donald Trump’s approval rating is currently at its lowest level since he left office in 2021, following January 6. A recent CNN poll showed Trump’s approval rating at 37% and disapproval rating at 63%.
One of Trump’s initial focuses on the campaign trail was inflation and the economy. Trump promised to lower prices several times during the campaign. That has not happened; in fact it has worsened. In September 2025, inflation increased by 3.0%.
This is all in part because of the massive tariffs Trump has enacted. A poll was done on how Americans feel about the economy, and only 38% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the economy, while 57% disapprove of his handling, according to The Hill.
During a 60 Minutes interview last week with Norah O’Donnell, Trump falsely claimed that grocery prices have come down since he came into office. A big thing that the administration pushed on the campaign trail was the idea that the Biden administration was lying about the state of the economy to its voters.
Now we have a situation where Trump is blatantly lying on national television about the very thing he accused the Biden administration of lying about. Of course, this is not surprising considering the record of falsehoods said by Trump and his administration.
One can write an entire book on why Trump and the Republicans are currently in the position they are in. Democrats are the ones who had a good night on Tuesday. The question from here on out that is on a lot of people’s minds is what does this mean moving forward?
Next year in 2026, we will have the midterm elections in November. This will determine U.S. House and Senate control for both parties. The democratic sweep we saw on Tuesday gives Democrats a good amount of confidence heading into 2026. It’s justified, considering the wins were not by small margins.
Trump and the Republicans will continue the same strategies they have been using for the past 10 months and enact policies that can worsen conditions.
With the ongoing government shutdown, republicans don’t have the narrative. Most polls show Americans blame republicans, and even Trump himself for the shutdown. According to sources close to Trump, republicans are “getting killed” on the shutdown.
The shutdown has already done massive damage to the country, including limiting SNAP benefits, flight disruptions that may get even worse, and more furloughed federal workers who may not receive their jobs back.
Democrats at this moment have an amazing opportunity to use all these republican failures as attack points for the midterms, but they must work quickly. Midterms are a year out and while Americans will not forget the pain of this ongoing shutdown and other actions done by the Trump Administration, narratives can change very quickly in politics.
Tuesday’s elections gave the Trump administration a grade of their agenda so far. What will happen next year during the midterms is unclear, but one thing is clear. Americans are fed up with the Trump administration, and this may only be the beginng of how Americans are showing their frustration and disapproval.