News Summary

• The economy will not determine how the midterms play out, says Julian Zelizer.
• Zelizer: This non-presidential election cycle will come down to pure partisanship and voter turnout.
• In 2024, inflation’s peak of 9.1 percent in June 2022, the lag between official cooling and household pain, weak feelings about real wages, energy costs that hammered confidence, and skepticism over Washington's spending binge were the levers.
• Midterms strip those levers of their audience, he says.