The Guardian: Trump lost because of the high price of eggs and gasoline The 2026 mid-term elections, for the first time in a decade, far exceeded forecasts and the blue wave turned into a tsunami. The main reason for this victory was the large turnout of traditional Democratic voters and unhappy voters, from Gen Z to Latinos, farmers and the white working class. These voters approved or supported Trump's blatant racism, but changed their vote once the economic consequences hit their pockets. For most of them it was not the brutality of the immigration police, but the price of eggs and gas that filled the cup of patience. Sarah Langwell, a former Republican consultant, found in focus groups that whenever, whether on the left or the right, people say things are not good and immediately talk about prices. "It all depends on people's relationship with the economy," he said. "Trump's voters will probably let him get away with corruption, he did a lot of corrupt things in his first term." Trump raised tariffs that raised the cost of goods and cut a trillion dollars from the social safety net.

The Guardian: Trump lost because of the high price of eggs and gasoline The 2026 mid-term elections, for the first time in a decade, far exceeded forecasts and the blue wave turned into a tsunami. The main reason for this victory was the large turnout of traditional Democratic voters and unhappy voters, from Gen Z to Latinos, farmers and the white working class. These voters approved or supported Trump's blatant racism, but changed their vote once the economic consequences hit their pockets. For most of them it was not the brutality of the immigration police, but the price of eggs and gas that filled the cup of patience. Sarah Langwell, a former Republican consultant, found in focus groups that whenever, whether on the left or the right, people say things are not good and immediately talk about prices. "It all depends on people's relationship with the economy," he said. "Trump's voters will probably let him get away with corruption, he did a lot of corrupt things in his first term." Trump raised tariffs that raised the cost of goods and cut a trillion dollars from the social safety net.