![Screenshot from The New York Times’ coverage of voting trends in the 2026 midterm elections showing blue arrows across the U.S.](/sites/default/files/styles/1440px_width_scale/public/2026-11/Screenshot%202026-11-04%20105245.png?itok=H4IHq3GC) Allyn West 1 minute read # Takeaways from the midterm elections Environmental Defense Fund political expert Joe Bonfiglio breaks down the results and what comes next. Published: November 6, 2026 Screenshot from The New York Times’ coverage of voting trends in the 2026 midterm elections. I woke up Wednesday morning worrying about the arrows. Because, for every car honking in Austin, Texas, late Tuesday night, wasn’t there someone sighing alone at her cubicle two years ago? Didn’t the highs I saw all over social media just mirror the lows from 2024? This is what we saw then: ![Screenshot from The New York Times’ coverage of voting trends in the 2024 election showing red arrows to the right](/sites/default/files/styles/1440px_width_scale/public/2026-11/Screenshot%202026-11-04%20105341.png?itok=M1ImMWzD) Screenshot of *New York Times*’ [2024 election coverage](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/elections/voter-trends-national.html). So, I sat down with Joe Bonfiglio, my colleague in D.C. who focuses on U.S. politics at Environmental Defense Fund, to ask him what comes next. Are we trapped on a seesaw of power that’s going to be yanked back and forth every other election? How do we start getting where the arrows are pointing? Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. ## The Times’ Peter Baker wrote on Wednesday that it’s [the beginning of the end of the Trump era](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/11/04/us/politics/midterm-election-trump-voters.html). I wanted to start there. In some ways, the results are a rebuke of the past two years, which have been chaotic and filled with broken promises. But what are some of your takeaways? Though the Trump administration is not going anywhere, their politics got a resounding thumping last night. President Trump reshaped our politics, through demonizing people and driving division. That fever broke, and voters said they wanted big change. ## When you use the phrase “our political moment,” how do you characterize it in your head? There’s a tension between “today” and “tomorrow” issues in this election. The today issues were front and center, whether it’s how inflation has cut the ability for everyone to afford anything or what the war has done to people’s daily lives. But I think we also got a sense that people are worried about the tomorrow issues, too. So many people are against data centers who are never going to see one where they live. I think that was rooted in a fear of AI. I don’t think we can ignore that. I don’t think we can ignore that voters saw rampant corruption and self-dealing and connected it to their struggles. Voters went in very heavily weighted toward trying to fix the today problems, but I don’t want us to look past this worry that is on the horizon, how the country gets stronger, smarter, more economically secure. There really is no scenario where you can continue to double down on old technologies and old ideas, fossil fuels over clean energy. The policies that have been pushed forward for years weren’t animating before. They’re not going to be animating again. But the climate issue will always lose if there is not a majority of people that believe what is next is good. Topics - [ Climate and energy ](/all-stories?topic=21&subcategory=21) - [ Law and policy ](/all-stories?topic=21&subcategory=28) Share - [ LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/takeaways-midterm-elections "Share this on LinkedIn") - [ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/takeaways-midterm-elections&text=Environmental Defense Fund's Joe Bonfiglio discusses the midterm results, what voters want and what comes next.  "Share this on Twitter") - [ Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/takeaways-midterm-elections "Share this on Facebook") - [ Pocket ](https://getpocket.com/edit?url=https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/takeaways-midterm-elections "Share this on Pocket") - [ Flipboard ](https://share.flipboard.com/bookmarklet/popout?v=2&title=Takeaways from the midterm elections&url=https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/takeaways-midterm-elections "Share this on Flipboard") - [ Telegram ](https://telegram.me/share/url?url=https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/takeaways-midterm-elections&text=Environmental Defense Fund's Joe Bonfiglio discusses the midterm results, what voters want and what comes next.  "Share this on Telegram") ## Environmental news that matters, straight to your inbox ## What are some of the signs we need to start seeing that we are getting smarter and stronger? People care about what is happening around them because of climate change. But I would put a flag in the ground. This was not a climate election, and I think I’m pretty safe in saying that, right? But I do think this was a signal better than anyone could have manufactured that the status quo is simply not tenable for a wide swath of the American electorate. That is hard to explain away. Every demographic group shifted. You can’t explain what happened in this election purely on turnout, which means that people who have never considered voting for Democrats were like, “I don’t like what I’m doing, but I’m going to give it a whirl.” So, this is an inflection point. People are looking for what’s next and how it benefits them. Look at those arrows. Those arrows turned blue in rural farm country further, faster than I think anybody assumed was even possible. The through line was that something has to change, but there’s no agreement on what it needs to change to. I think that’s the white space, if you will, that exists. *(This article is excerpted from* [*The Work*](https://thework.edf.org/p/all-signs-point)*, EDF’s free weekly newsletter on Substack. 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