Show Notes
Your participation has tangible and intangible effects.
Hey everyone — Election Day is on Tuesday. If you haven’t yet voted, you should make plans to. Ahead of every midterm and presidential election, I republish a piece I wrote in 2022 making the case to Tangle readers about why they should participate. Every other year, I update the piece a little bit based on responses I got the previous year or to reflect current events. This year, I’m excited to be publishing this piece again. I hope you enjoy and share it with your family and friends (this Friday edition is available to everyone). Best, Isaac
While you’re here... We are currently running a 26% discount on our newsletter subscription during the 2026 midterms. That comes out to less than $4/month, which is less than you probably spend on a single coffee or beer. Subscribing to Tangle unlocks all our Friday editions (like this one), 2,000+ articles in our archive, the comments section, the ad-free newsletter, and other offerings like Press Pass and A Grain of Saul.
Election night coverage. This Tuesday, Tangle’s hosting an evening of midterm elections coverage, sponsored in part by the folks at Incogni. Executive Editor Isaac Saul and our team will break down the results as they come in and welcome guests like Adam Mockler, Batya Ungar-Sargon, Dave Weigel, Noah Rothman, and more. We’ll be livestreaming from our YouTube channel, so check in here at 7:00 PM ET on Election Night.
Isaac will also be joined by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman and Editor-at-Large Kmele Foster for part of the night, as he is every week for the Suspension of the Rules podcast. This week, the three discussed the breaking news out of Alaska, some viral Midterm campaign moments, and what ballot initiatives have caught their eyes. Listen to or watch the latest episode!
You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here.
Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.
This podcast written by: Isaac Saul and audio engineered and edited by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Jon Lall.
Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Audrey Moorehead, and Carina Pacheco. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Tangle
On Tuesday, Israel held its first elections since Hamas’s October 7 attacks in 2023. With approximately 96% of ballots counted, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has won more seats than any other party in Israel’s Knesset but will fall short of the 61 seats needed for a majority. The results set the stage for what is expected to be weeks of negotiations over a new governing coalition and Netanyahu’s future.
In today's jam packed election themed episode of Suspension of the rules, Isaac, Ari and Kmele explore controversial campaign tactics, political rhetoric, antisemitism in political advertising, and upcoming ballot initiatives in Florida and California. They examine how political opportunism and divisive messaging affect public trust and democratic debate and much more. Its a good one!
Is the "blue tsunami" talk legit?
In a Senate race that could determine the majority in the upper chamber, Democrat Troy Jackson holds a narrow polling lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in Maine. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win a Senate majority, and Collins is the only incumbent Republican senator running for reelection this year in a state that Kamala Harris (D) won in 2024. The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball all rate the race a toss-up, but Jackson holds a 1.2-point lead over Collins in the most recent RealClearPolitics polling average. As of Wednesday morning, 220,000 Mainers have cast early votes in the election, with registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans nearly 5:2.
On Monday, October 19, President Donald Trump announced the Harvest Fuel Relief Program (HFR), an $8 billion program to support farmers during a spike in diesel costs. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) will disburse the funds as one-time payments based on a formula that projects farmers’ needed aid, with the first payments potentially going out by the end of the year.