Politics examines how power is won and constrained: election results and the coalitions they permit, party discipline, the arithmetic of a working majority, and the bargaining that precedes any significant vote. Analysis explains why an outcome was available rather than predicting the next one. Written for readers following government as a system.
The first shutdown of 2026 closed February 3 when the House accepted a Senate package of five appropriations bills and a two-week Homeland Security stopgap on a 217–214 vote.
Alexandria Lucas · February 4, 2026
The 2026 map puts 35 Senate seats on the ballot, and both parties' paths to the majority run through a handful of contested states.
Alexandria Lucas · January 8, 2026