The Story of the 2026 Midterm Elections Is the Socialist Surge

With less than three weeks before Election Day, media coverage of the upcoming 2026 midterm elections is in full saturation mode.

In a perfect world, the fourth estate, especially in the weeks leading up to an election, would seek an unbiased posture toward both sides and accurately inform the people about election issues.

But we do not live in a perfect world. We live in a time and place in which the mainstream media are biased and agenda-driven.

Broadly speaking, the media tends to favor the so-called underdogs of society, the “oppressed victims.”

This media mindset, in general, helps explain why the fourth estate seems to disfavor free enterprise while giving socialism every benefit of the doubt.

Again, I am painting with a broad brush; this does not mean that all media are inextricably pro-socialism and anti-free enterprise. But I do think that socialist candidates and their policies do not receive due scrutiny and skepticism.

Because of this inherent and widespread bias, the most underreported story of the 2026 election is that more than 200 socialists are running for political offices at the local, state, and federal level throughout the United States.

In 2024, for comparison, only 51 socialists ran in the general election.

Since 2018, The Heartland Institute has tracked the total number of socialists running for political offices and their win percentage.

In 2018, 86 socialists ran, and approximately 40 percent won. In 2020, 266 socialists ran, and more than 90 percent won. Then came the dip.

In 2022, 132 socialists ran, followed by only 51 in 2024.

The tide has turned. Socialists are on the upswing.

But the socialist menace is not being identified for what it is by those whose job it is to do so.

Instead, the “free” stuff fairytale is being presented as a viable solution to the affordability crisis.

Ad nauseam, the socialists claim that the United States is the wealthiest nation in the world and can easily afford “free” stuff like healthcare, childcare, a universal basic income, college debt cancellation, and so much more if the “wealthy” just pay their fair share.

Without much hesitation, the media have overwhelmingly accepted this premise. Thus, socialist candidates don’t fear they will receive hard-hitting questions.

To prove the point, when he appeared on Jesse Watters Primetime and was directly asked how much Medicare for All would cost, U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed had no clue because he had never been asked such a fundamental question about his “free” healthcare pipe dream.

Whereas the friendly media treat socialists with kid gloves, they treat anyone defending free enterprise with an iron fist.

Free-market capitalism gets a bad rap because the media rarely tout its benefits while routinely reporting on its few shortcomings.

In a free enterprise society, some have more stuff than others. But they did not steal that stuff from others. They earned that stuff by providing some sort of value to society.

Jeff Bezos did not take from others to become a billionaire. He created something that people voluntarily use because they choose to do so.

Most Americans understand that free enterprise is far superior to socialism, but they are also becoming more amenable to socialism as a potential solution to the affordability crisis.

The problem is that they are not being told the whole story: Government intervention into free markets is the primary driver of the affordability crisis.

Ironically, after decades of anti-free enterprise government programs, the U.S. healthcare market does not optimally operate on supply-and-demand; it operates on corruption and cronyism.

The same can be said for so many other aspects of the affordability crisis, such as housing and higher education.

In a few weeks, millions of Americans will decide if socialism is the solution. I hope the media have not conditioned them into believing that socialism can possibly be the solution.

Socialism will never be the solution. Freedom and free enterprise are the solution based on human nature and the past 200 years of human history.

Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.

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