POLITICO Playbook Podcast Previews Election Day as the 'Armageddon of All Elections'

POLITICO's Playbook Podcast marked Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with a preview episode built around a phrase from former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who told Playbook that this year's midterms would be "the Armageddon of all elections." The episode, titled "The 'Armageddon of all elections'," was released at 5 a.m. Eastern and runs about 23 minutes, according to its Apple Podcasts listing. It features Playbook co-authors Dasha Burns, Adam Wren and Will Steakin.

The episode description says Republicans and Democrats "can agree on one thing: The results could reshape the political landscape for years to come," and asks, "Will the blue tsunami predicted by some polls materialize? And could MAGA face a major political reckoning in the aftermath?" The Playbook newsletter published the same morning described it as "a special election run-up episode" with audio from President Donald Trump's closing argument at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, "Pete Buttigieg's midterms sizzle reel" and results from The POLITICO Poll.

Comparisons to 2010 and 2006

McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chair, compared this year to 2010, when Republicans gained 63 House seats and six Senate seats and nearly 700 state legislative seats flipped, according to the newsletter. "We lost 20 legislative chambers," he told Playbook. He said he believes the election is going to "define our country for a decade."

On the podcast, Wren said he considered the description apt but urged caution, noting that the Democratic Party itself remains deeply unpopular and that some Democrats argue their party is not so much winning the midterms as Trump is losing them, according to an audio transcript of the episode. The hosts added that even a strong night for Democrats would not mean the party had resolved its divisions, and pointed to candidate quality in races in states such as Texas, Kansas and Iowa.

Republican former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told Playbook, "I think we are going to get walloped in the Latino vote, maybe back to you know Romney-era levels." In the episode, Wren said Christie is watching for erosion among Hispanic voters and independents, while MAGA-aligned Republicans he has spoken with argue that a midterm loss is typically a verdict on the sitting president rather than on his ideology. Christie also told Playbook that Vice President JD Vance "needs to own not only his portion of that defeat."

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Playbook, "It feels like an '06," a reference to the 2006 midterms, when both chambers flipped to Democrats under a Republican president. "If they lose in the House and the Senate, it's an inflection point," McCarthy said. Discussing that interview on the podcast, Steakin said McCarthy was frank that losing both chambers would push Republicans to reexamine their policies and future leadership.

What the POLITICO Poll shows

The hosts walked through findings from The POLITICO Poll, conducted by PF Global. Roughly 9% of Trump 2024 voters plan to vote for a Democrat this year, compared with just over 2% of Kamala Harris voters who plan to back Republicans. At the end of last year, 56% of Hispanic Trump voters identified as MAGA Republicans; as of October, 37% did. Among Trump voters ages 20 to 29, the share saying they were certain to vote fell from 50% to 38% over the same period. The figures draw on five weekly surveys from Oct. 3 to Nov. 1.

On the episode, the hosts said turnout is likely to matter more than voters switching parties, and connected the shifts to immigration enforcement, the war with Iran and Trump's campaign pledge to avoid new foreign conflicts. In POLITICO's report on the poll, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said that Trump has "crisscrossed the country" campaigning for Republicans and that "President Trump is the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party." Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said the "Trump administration has delivered on its promises to the American people."

The blame game and the closing message

The hosts previewed the finger-pointing they expect among Republicans if the party has a poor night, naming Trump's political operation, Senate Republican leader John Thune, whom Trump pressed to pass the SAVE Act and to end the filibuster, and candidates such as Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton. A separate POLITICO report found that "Republicans are already privately blaming President Donald Trump as they brace for losses on Tuesday."

The episode also played audio from Trump's Monday speech at the reopened Reflecting Pool, in which he discussed renovation work around Washington, including new grass at the White House. CNN reported that the midterm portion of the roughly hourlong speech lasted about 10 minutes and that Trump described fixing problems in the pool, including "tremendous algae." According to NPR, Trump said, "For some reason, the sitting president doesn't win the midterms, but we gave this a very strong shot." NPR also reported that he highlighted border security and tax cuts.

Looking ahead to 2028

The episode closed by turning to the 2028 presidential race. The hosts played a video from former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, released the previous day, in which he describes traveling the country to campaign with candidates up and down the ballot. They noted that Buttigieg has campaigned in Republican-leaning districts where Democratic candidates have welcomed him, and said potential 2028 contenders are likely to point to their midterm campaign records in the days after the election.

Playbook also flagged early bellwethers: Kentucky's 6th District, where polls close at 6 p.m. and Democrat Zach Dembo faces Republican Ralph Alvarado, and Indiana's 5th District, where GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz faces Democratic state Sen. J.D. Ford. The episode description notes that POLITICO Elections Live begins at 9 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday.