This year, the 2026 midterm elections will decide which party controls Congress, and whether Republicans can hold on to every lever of influence in Washington.Annie Karni and Shane Goldmacher, who cover politics, discuss the opportunities and perils for both parties.Guest:<ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/annie-karni" target="_blank">Annie Karni</a>, a congressional correspondent at The New York Times.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/shane-goldmacher" target="_blank">Shane Goldmacher</a>, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.</li></ul>Background reading: <ul><li>Both President Trump and the Democrats <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/us/politics/trump-democrats-midterm-conventions.html" target="_blank">are floating unusual midterm conventions</a>.</li><li>Here are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/us/politics/trump-democrats-gop-midterms-venezuela-economy.html" target="_blank">six big political questions</a> for the new year.</li><li>And here are the latest <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/congressional-vote-2026.html" target="_blank">polls for the 2026 elections</a>.</li></ul>Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty ImagesFor more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 
Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 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.

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