Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.
Well, the 2026 midterm elections has brought one of the largest shifts of power in American political history. For those who are in need of a bright side, it was not the largest shift of power, even for a midterm election. And also, we can say that despite all the hysteria we heard about the end of democracy, the system has held. The elections occurred. Politicians were checked.
And balanced. And on one hand, there's nothing more predictable in U.S. politics than a second-term president suffering serious losses in a midterm election, especially in the House of Representatives. On the other hand, there are losses. And then there's this loss, which included the House, the Senate, and races for which even the most optimistic Democrats did not dare hope.
And it's not just that big gains were made by the Democratic Party on Tuesday night; it's where they happened: Kansas, Texas, South Carolina, maybe even Mississippi. That still remains to be seen. Elections have consequences. In this case, there are consequences for both parties, including the winners. The Democratic Party must now reckon with a growing radical element within it, which is saying something for a party that already has enshrined abortion at all stages of pregnancy and for any reason.
Among their elected ranks now are seven self-described socialists, two liberal Protestants who hold extreme views about God and sexuality, and a Muslim with a troubling history of both statements and relationships.
So while this election is still better understood as a repudiation of Republicans than it is an endorsement of the more radical elements of the Democratic Party, those radical elements are still firmly in place, and Democrats will also have to deal with those in their ranks who are just committed. To launching investigations into the Trump administration. In the end, for Republicans, the most likely consequence of this election will be the future of the courts. Also, Republicans are now forced to address the elephant in their party—that's, of course, the president of the United States. The huge Tuesday losses make it virtually impossible for Trump to accomplish anything else on his agenda.
And even more, it's not clear what conservatism even is about anymore. And though on Tuesday night Trump signaled a willingness to work across the aisle, it's difficult to believe that either he or those across the aisle will actually be willing to do so. Perhaps more than anything else, Republicans simply must reckon with where the American culture really is on so many issues. For example, except in Idaho, Americans once again voted to protect legal abortion, and yet, despite the sharp left return on virtually every other issue. Voters soundly rejected transgender ideology on the ballot.
A hero of this 2026 election is Erin Lee of Protect Kids, Colorado. On a ballot that was full of initiatives, most of them aimed at repudiating Colorado's long-standing taxpayer bill of rights, Erin and her team placed propositions 133, 134, and 135. Each aimed at protecting kids. These bills aimed at increasing jail time for child trafficking, protecting girls' sports, and banning irreversible sex change surgeries for minors. And all seem to be poised to pass, though by slim margins.
In the progressive state of Washington, also a ballot initiative to protect girls' sports also passed. The political aspects of Tuesday's election will be debated for quite some time. From a world view perspective, however, I think it's safe to say that there are three sayings that some consider to be clichés that have aged quite well. First, politics is still mostly downstream from the rest of culture. Yes, politics is a part of culture, and at times can even drive the rest of culture in a particular direction.
Commonly cited example of this: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was. Far ahead of many Americans and much of American culture on racial issues.
However, exceptions to the rule do not disprove the rule. Most of the time, politics reflects where a culture is. Far more often than not, larger cultural values are what's driving politics, rather than politics being what's driving cultural values. To intentionally misquote James Carville, it's the culture stupid. Both political wins and political wins, W I N S, are fickle and temporary, especially if cultural work is not done to sustain them.
Second, as Chuck Colson often said, salvation does not arrive on Air Force One. Presidents are consequential, but they are not ultimate. Their influence can be significant, but they still always be temporary. Political wins do not, in and of themselves, secure a cultural future. Forgetting that is a shortcut to compromising eternal truths and confusing our priorities.
And finally, the apocalypse also never arrives on Air Force One either. Too many have believed that it had. Forgetting that is just as much of a shortcut to compromising eternal truths and confusing priorities, perhaps even more so. Look, the results of Tuesday's election are huge. Perhaps, as the story of this country unfolds, it'll be remembered as a national pivot point.
It may even be recognized as a marker of our civilizational decline. And even if all of that's true, which is far from uncertain. It's neither cause for our hope nor our despair as Christ followers. The very best thing Christians can do is to double down on what is true, to recognize both the seriousness of this cultural moment, while never forgetting it is part of the larger redemptive story that has been defined by the work of Jesus Christ. We must be clear that the most true thing in all of human history remains.
Christ is risen from the dead. Our job is to join Him in His work of restoration, and that's what the Truth Rising Project is all about. Learn more about how to respond to this cultural moment with hope by going to colsoncenter.org/study. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. If you're ready to go deeper in Christian worldview formation, it may be time to consider the Colson Fellows program.
Colson Fellows take time over ten months to study how Christianity is so much more than a private God and me only faith. It's a way of seeing and comprehending all reality. The result is a more confident, courageous faith that's equipped for our cultural moment. If you're ready to learn more, join us on a live informational webinar on Thursday, November twelfth, at one. 1 p.m.
Register today at colsoncenter.org/webinar. That's colsoncenter.org/webinar.
