APAC Advisors' 2026 Midterm Series

We asked a simple question: what is the Democratic brand today?

Peter Goelz answered in three words: "There isn't one."

It was a fitting start to our second Midterm Election Series session, where Peter and Thurgood Marshall Jr joined our CEO, Steven Okun, with 30 days to go to the vote. 

On paper, Democrats should be celebrating. Past wave elections were won with a generic ballot lead of about a touchdown, and Democrats are at 8.4 points today. But a late flood of Republican dark money could knock off two or three of those points, which would mean no wave.

The ads tell a similar story. Republicans are mostly running on taxes. Democrats are running on business, though not in a friendly way: everything costs too much, so who's getting rich off it? That's a strong message for winning the House. 

But as both panelists pointed out, a win built on voters rejecting the other side is a lot harder to govern on.