How to think about the midterms — and the political moment the country is in

Polls show Democrats with an advantage in the midterm election but there are potential limitations and results may take a while to roll in.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3163x2109+0+0/resize/3163x2109!/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7b%2Fb0%2F265f398745ec942787493ef6b29a%2Fgettyimages-2302457320.jpg' alt='President Donald Trump spoke to members of the media during a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago club on October 31, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida.'/><p>Polls show Democrats with an advantage in the midterm election but there are potential limitations and results may take a while to roll in.</p><p>(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-151146' />