Topics covered in today’s Politics Chat: The 2026 midterm election appears to have been a sea change in American politics. Democrats are projected to win at least 258 seats in the House of Representatives. Democrats flipped seven Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Democrats also flipped governorships in Iowa, Georgia, Ohio, Nevada, and Texas. Rural voters swung heavily toward Democrats after cuts to Medicaid and food assistance. Elon Musk poured nearly half a billion into the midterms. About 124 million people voted, the highest midterm turnout since 1914 apart from 2018. The election was peaceful despite widespread fears of interference. The results were a repudiation of Trump and of the 40-year Reagan era. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vice President JD Vance are already distancing themselves from Trump. Democrats plan to launch oversight hearings and subpoenas when the new Congress is seated in January. Grassroots organizing, not party leadership, drove the shift.  Watch today's live recording here (https://www.youtube.com/live/ff5-H-zOxvE?si=nS7TLXYrpnREPhOJ) . Listen on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/politics-chat/id1873028393) Listen on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/6KuFZk2S34bE6xjkA7klsN?si=a8353137c9ed4957) Get full, free access to Letters from an American here (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe) . You can also find Heather: YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/) Threads (https://www.threads.com/@heathercoxrichardson) TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@hcrichardson) Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)