Politico's Jonathan Martin Already Measuring Oval Office Drapes for Democrats

The  returns from the 2026 midterm elections had hardly finished being reported when Politico's senior political columnist, Jonathan Martin, let loose with an orgiastic burst of joy over what he considers to be the very favorable prospects of a Democratic being elected to the White House in 2028. The gloating title: "Republicans' 2028 Presidential Map Just Blew Up."

The Democratic landslide Tuesday was not just a rebuke of President Donald Trump but a political earthquake that could fundamentally transform the country's electoral map.

Suddenly, the Republican path to 270 electoral votes appears considerably narrower. But that's not all. The red-and-blue presidential map as we know it is crumbling.

Finally, Democrats win! Party time at Politico! Martin wasn't shy, starting with:  "The transition starts in Texas, where after more than a decade of rosy predictions of blue, the GOP Alamo finally fell."

On the heels of much joyful doom and gloom analysis about GOP prospects Martin tosses away any semblance of attempting to appear unbiased by wishcasting his transparent desire for which party he openly prefers elected to the White House in two years:

This doesn't necessarily mean 2028 will be a repeat of 2008, but to move east and south is to find only more devastation for Republicans. Their only real footholds in the Northeast are the governorships of New Hampshire and Vermont — and Pennsylvania Sen. David McCormick, who may be a presidential candidate perhaps sooner than planned. With Sen. Susan Collins's defeat in Maine, Republicans have no senators in New England for the first time since the founding of the GOP.

...Just six reliably blue states — New York, New Jersey, Illinois and the three West Coast states — hand Democrats 135 electoral votes, getting them halfway there.

If the Sun Belt, including Texas and Florida, is up for grabs there is no obvious path for Republicans even in a slightly better political environment — one where Gov. Greg Abbott loses by, say, four rather than seven.

It seems dire in the wake of day for the GOP.

...Put more directly, would Vice-President JD Vance fare better than Tuesday's GOP candidates in Georgia, Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada? It's hard to see.

Now, he, or whoever the nominee is, won't be running against a generic Democrat. And presidential races are different from statewide campaigns.

That's right, Jonathan. The 2028 Republican presidential candidate won't be running against a generic faceless Democrat but a very real person, with very real policy positions. Martin declined to mention any of them. Due to embarrassment? 

It's close to inevitable that the Democrats take their newfound power and underline they are not a party of moderates. They have moved decisively to the left to keep the "Democratic Socialists" faction in the tent. What did Jonathan Martin write after the Democrats lost to Trump in 2024? 

First, they must recognize that they unwittingly seeded the ground for Trump's revival. Their leftward acceleration under his presidency handed him the fodder he needed to portray the opposition as radical.

Like this can't happen again? Getting out your crystal ball before all the election returns are even complete is risky business.