48 Days Until the Midterms: Is a Blue Wave Coming?

About this episode

<p>As the general midterm elections begin, we take a look at where things stand. A new Times/Siena poll suggests that Democrats have a real shot at winning control of both chambers of Congress. But serious obstacles stand in their way, including a financial disadvantage.</p><p>The New York Times journalists Shane Goldmacher, Maggie Haberman and Nate Cohn sit down to discuss whether the United States is likely to see a blue wave in November.</p><p>Guest:</p><ul><li><strong>Maggie Haberman</strong>, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.</li><li><strong>Shane Goldmacher</strong>, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/nate-cohn" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Nate Cohn</strong></a>, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.</li></ul><p>Background reading:&nbsp;</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/us/politics/trump-midterm-election-poll.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A new poll from The New York Times</a> found that Democrats have an edge as President Trump drags down the Republican Party.</li><li>Trump’s ability to channel voter concerns was tested as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/us/politics/trump-republicans-midterms-voters.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Republicans gathered in Dallas</a>.</li></ul><p>Photo: Chase Castor for The New York Times</p> <p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p><p> </p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>