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The Left Hook · Tuesday · 44 min

The Left Hook - 62 - Midterms 2026

Hosts Mark Bland and Jason Kull open the episode celebrating what they call a "blue tsunami" in the midterms and the biggest win for any party in 50 years. By their count, Democrats are on pace to win the popular vote by about 13 points, flip seven Senate seats and reach roughly 250 House seats. They also point to a list of historic firsts among the winners. Closer to home in the St. Louis area, the hosts take partial credit for helping Fred Wellman defeat seven-term Rep. Ann Wagner, a race they had targeted since 2022. They also note Amy Acton's win over Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio and Abdul El-Sayed's victory, which he had predicted would be by seven points. They read Laura Loomer's reaction that "America is over" and Trump's statements that he would accept the results while blaming the candidates. They also discuss his election-night posts attacking Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlowe. Their advice to the new Democratic majority is to avoid a quick impeachment push. Instead, they want Democrats to investigate DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency), get clarity on the Iran conflict and focus on cabinet members with political futures, such as Hegseth, Rubio and Vance. In the second half, the hosts argue that Republicans lost young voters because, in their view, those voters easily see through AI-driven messaging and online figures like Andrew Tate and Trump. They go on to praise Generation X for building the modern tech era and say it should team up with younger generations to push for goals like universal health care. Beyond politics, they go over five warning signs of being "quiet fired" at work. These include canceled meetings, opportunities going to coworkers, stalled raises, unreasonable performance improvement plans and job changes made without your input. They also discuss a viral video claiming that stores like Walmart and Target use shoppers' phones to change shelf prices based on what customers can afford, a claim the hosts admit they can't confirm. Cole sums up the election as a backlash that came twice as fast as the last one: two years instead of four. The show ends by promoting the new website, LeftHookShow.com.

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Hosts Mark Bland and Jason Kull open the episode celebrating what they call a "blue tsunami" in the midterms and the biggest win for any party in 50 years. By their count, Democrats are on pace to win the popular vote by about 13 points, flip seven Senate seats and reach roughly 250 House seats. They also point to a list of historic firsts among the winners. Closer to home in the St. Louis area, the hosts take partial credit for helping Fred Wellman defeat seven-term Rep. Ann Wagner, a race they had targeted since 2022. They also note Amy Acton's win over Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio and Abdul El-Sayed's victory, which he had predicted would be by seven points. They read Laura Loomer's reaction that "America is over" and Trump's statements that he would accept the results while blaming the candidates. They also discuss his election-night posts attacking Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlowe. Their advice to the new Democratic majority is to avoid a quick impeachment push. Instead, they want Democrats to investigate DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency), get clarity on the Iran conflict and focus on cabinet members with political futures, such as Hegseth, Rubio and Vance.

In the second half, the hosts argue that Republicans lost young voters because, in their view, those voters easily see through AI-driven messaging and online figures like Andrew Tate and Trump. They go on to praise Generation X for building the modern tech era and say it should team up with younger generations to push for goals like universal health care. Beyond politics, they go over five warning signs of being "quiet fired" at work. These include canceled meetings, opportunities going to coworkers, stalled raises, unreasonable performance improvement plans and job changes made without your input. They also discuss a viral video claiming that stores like Walmart and Target use shoppers' phones to change shelf prices based on what customers can afford, a claim the hosts admit they can't confirm. Cole sums up the election as a backlash that came twice as fast as the last one: two years instead of four. The show ends by promoting the new website, LeftHookShow.com.

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