In a statement concerning the results of the US midterm elections, the Central Committee of the Communist Workers' Platform USA (CWPUSA) points out:
“The democratic petty bourgeois want better wages and security for the workers, and hope to achieve this by an extension of state employment and by welfare measures; in short, they hope to bribe the workers with a more or less disguised form of alms and to break their revolutionary strength by temporarily rendering their situation tolerable" - Marx, Abstract from the Address of the Central Committee to the Communist League, London 1850
“The democratic petty bourgeois want better wages and security for the workers, and hope to achieve this by an extension of state employment and by welfare measures; in short, they hope to bribe the workers with a more or less disguised form of alms and to break their revolutionary strength by temporarily rendering their situation tolerable" - Marx, Abstract from the Address of the Central Committee to the Communist League, London 1850
On 3 November 2026, the US midterm elections were held with the Republican Party suffering substantial losses amidst an upswell of Democratic wins. The midterm elections are waged for the composition of the Legislative branch, that section of the capitalist State that houses the arbitrators of the controversies within the capitalist class. These elections take place against the backdrop of an intensifying struggle within the US bourgeoisie, the sharpening of inter-imperialist competition with China, and widespread popular dissatisfaction with the policies of the Trump administration and with the costs of its repressive measures and imperialist interventions, borne by the workers and people of the US. This contest between the two parties reflects the intensifying inter-imperialist rivalry that is fueling clashes among the monopolies over a larger share of state support, over which sectors and which business groups will secure the biggest slice of the pie for themselves.
The Democrats managed to take advantage of this indignation, securing a number of surprising victories, including majorities in both the House and the Senate. Upheavals occurred in key states and in those that historically lean Republican, such as Kansas and Texas, where Republicans lost both a Senate seat and the governorship. Put plainly, the Democrats ended the night (with a few more races still to be counted at the time of writing) with a resounding victory, striking a major blow to the Trump administration's plans and securing a stronger bargaining position within the bourgeoisie. Congress's composition may have changed, but the keys to power remain firmly in the hands of the big monopolies and financial groups
How did the Republicans squander the favor of the American voter? Energy prices have risen 20% Year-Over-Year as of September 2026, food now costs approximately 25% more today than in 2020, interest rates have risen 3%, while inflation-adjusted wage growth since 2020 has been essentially zero. And this is not to say that prior to 2020 was sunshine and rainbows for the US working class: in 2015, 18% of Americans spent more than they earned (today that number is 26%).
By most metrics, the average American, which is to say the workers who keep this country running, is under greater and greater financial strain year after year. Inflation kicked into high gear under the Biden administration, particularly in 2022 following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine War and the post-pandemic recovery efforts. The Republicans swept to power in 2024 as a consequence of the Democrats presiding over these conditions, in addition to the unwavering support the Biden administration held for Israel's genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. Between rising new wars, rising prices, genocide, and stagnant wages, the Democrats lost their elections in 2024. These trends have not ceased under Trump, with the imperialist wars in Iran and Ukraine (the latter now dragging into its fifth year) driving up the prices of fuel and basic goods, Israel maintaining unrestrained US support, and the cost of living continuing to squeeze the life out of every worker in the US.
Trump and the Republicans attended to their priorities: bolstering US capital competing with rising Chinese capital, and exerting more pressure on US workers to wring every last drop of profit we produce for the ever-wealthier capitalists. This required new wars, tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, tariffs that were passed on to consumers, ICE terror on thousands of migrant workers, increased surveillance of US citizens, and much more to bolster the capitalist class on the backs of us, the workers.
The workers and people of this country are rightly indignant. Day by day, month by month, worker's lives grow more stressful, more precarious, more exploited. It is natural then for the worker who sees their paycheck buy less and their free time disappear between their second or even third job, to search for answers, to search for change. In the absence of an alternative, the workers and people select the option presented to them, are trapped in the parties of capital. As in 2024, and as with Obama and then Trump from 2008–2016, voters rejected the party in power over the same conditions, worsened further.
The Democrats capture this dissatisfaction of the workers and people and funnel it to rebuilding trust in the capitalist system. What did the Democrats do when they won in 2020? They took the electoral mandate and broke strikes, delivered billions in profits to corporations, and carried out a genocide for which the horrifying death toll is still being counted. Where then, did the energy against THIS go? Right back to the Republican party, who carried out the same program with a modified paint job, the cycle set to repeat.
Will these midterms break this cycle? No. What can be done, then? There are groups putting forward "answers", notably the Democratic Socialists of America. Per the DSA, they won at least 105 seats in this election, with 6 going to the US House of Representatives. Each and every single one ran as a member of the Democratic Party. The DSA's stated strategy is one of a "dirty break" wherein the Democratic Party is used as a vehicle for the DSA to build its independent "socialist" infrastructure. Over the many years this strategy has been in place, its members have voted to break worker's strikes, abstained from a vote to send money to Israel, and voted in favor of shipping arms to Ukraine, to name a few actions these "democratic socialists" have taken to further the aims of US capital. The DSA represents a grave danger for the US workers and people. In the face of worsening daily life, the Democrats not only provide a false outlet for change, but the DSA reinforces this deception by selling a vote for Democrats as a revolutionary act.
Communists reject the answers put forward by the Democrats and the DSA. Instead, we propose the communist alternative not only to the reactionary madness of the Republicans, but also to the self-righteous Democrats who tout social justice with one hand while tightening their grip on our necks with the other. There is no law the US government can pass that will lower the price of gas and keep it low, guarantee quality healthcare for every citizen as a right now and forever, or provide dignified lives for all of us so that no one has to choose between rent and groceries, between education and childcare. Communists are not opposed to reforms or participation in bourgeois electoral systems as a matter of principle. We recognize that, absent a revolutionary movement, any reforms serve objectively to stabilize and manage capitalism, the exploitation of the working class. We therefore choose an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans: a fight to overthrow this entire rotten system and build a new one in its place.
To carry out this historic mission, we workers have strength in our numbers and in the fact that our labor makes every aspect of the economy run, but this strength lies dormant without organization and direction. Only one vehicle can provide what the workers and people need to liberate ourselves from this daily struggle. That vehicle is the communist party. It is the aim of the Communist Workers' Platform USA to build this party, to take this fight to its end, to break the cycle of Democrats and Republicans.
The 2026 midterms serve as the latest reminder that the working class in the United States is searching for a way out, and the only answer it receives is the snake oil sold by the Democrats and their lapdogs. We cannot afford to rest or take shortcuts in constructing the revolutionary alternative. To build the party, we must reach our fellow workers, organize study groups, plan demonstrations, lead the struggles in the workplaces and in the streets, and grow the ranks of the CWPUSA with militant workers. The working class has demonstrated that it is ready to fight for real change. The question now lies before every worker in the US: continue to vote for one or another oppressor, or build the fighting power of the working class to end capitalism entirely and build the socialist-communist world.
There is no middle road. The working class cannot continue without its own party. A different world is possible and necessary."
The Democrats managed to take advantage of this indignation, securing a number of surprising victories, including majorities in both the House and the Senate. Upheavals occurred in key states and in those that historically lean Republican, such as Kansas and Texas, where Republicans lost both a Senate seat and the governorship. Put plainly, the Democrats ended the night (with a few more races still to be counted at the time of writing) with a resounding victory, striking a major blow to the Trump administration's plans and securing a stronger bargaining position within the bourgeoisie. Congress's composition may have changed, but the keys to power remain firmly in the hands of the big monopolies and financial groups
How did the Republicans squander the favor of the American voter? Energy prices have risen 20% Year-Over-Year as of September 2026, food now costs approximately 25% more today than in 2020, interest rates have risen 3%, while inflation-adjusted wage growth since 2020 has been essentially zero. And this is not to say that prior to 2020 was sunshine and rainbows for the US working class: in 2015, 18% of Americans spent more than they earned (today that number is 26%).
By most metrics, the average American, which is to say the workers who keep this country running, is under greater and greater financial strain year after year. Inflation kicked into high gear under the Biden administration, particularly in 2022 following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine War and the post-pandemic recovery efforts. The Republicans swept to power in 2024 as a consequence of the Democrats presiding over these conditions, in addition to the unwavering support the Biden administration held for Israel's genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. Between rising new wars, rising prices, genocide, and stagnant wages, the Democrats lost their elections in 2024. These trends have not ceased under Trump, with the imperialist wars in Iran and Ukraine (the latter now dragging into its fifth year) driving up the prices of fuel and basic goods, Israel maintaining unrestrained US support, and the cost of living continuing to squeeze the life out of every worker in the US.
Trump and the Republicans attended to their priorities: bolstering US capital competing with rising Chinese capital, and exerting more pressure on US workers to wring every last drop of profit we produce for the ever-wealthier capitalists. This required new wars, tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, tariffs that were passed on to consumers, ICE terror on thousands of migrant workers, increased surveillance of US citizens, and much more to bolster the capitalist class on the backs of us, the workers.
The workers and people of this country are rightly indignant. Day by day, month by month, worker's lives grow more stressful, more precarious, more exploited. It is natural then for the worker who sees their paycheck buy less and their free time disappear between their second or even third job, to search for answers, to search for change. In the absence of an alternative, the workers and people select the option presented to them, are trapped in the parties of capital. As in 2024, and as with Obama and then Trump from 2008–2016, voters rejected the party in power over the same conditions, worsened further.
The Democrats capture this dissatisfaction of the workers and people and funnel it to rebuilding trust in the capitalist system. What did the Democrats do when they won in 2020? They took the electoral mandate and broke strikes, delivered billions in profits to corporations, and carried out a genocide for which the horrifying death toll is still being counted. Where then, did the energy against THIS go? Right back to the Republican party, who carried out the same program with a modified paint job, the cycle set to repeat.
Will these midterms break this cycle? No. What can be done, then? There are groups putting forward "answers", notably the Democratic Socialists of America. Per the DSA, they won at least 105 seats in this election, with 6 going to the US House of Representatives. Each and every single one ran as a member of the Democratic Party. The DSA's stated strategy is one of a "dirty break" wherein the Democratic Party is used as a vehicle for the DSA to build its independent "socialist" infrastructure. Over the many years this strategy has been in place, its members have voted to break worker's strikes, abstained from a vote to send money to Israel, and voted in favor of shipping arms to Ukraine, to name a few actions these "democratic socialists" have taken to further the aims of US capital. The DSA represents a grave danger for the US workers and people. In the face of worsening daily life, the Democrats not only provide a false outlet for change, but the DSA reinforces this deception by selling a vote for Democrats as a revolutionary act.
Communists reject the answers put forward by the Democrats and the DSA. Instead, we propose the communist alternative not only to the reactionary madness of the Republicans, but also to the self-righteous Democrats who tout social justice with one hand while tightening their grip on our necks with the other. There is no law the US government can pass that will lower the price of gas and keep it low, guarantee quality healthcare for every citizen as a right now and forever, or provide dignified lives for all of us so that no one has to choose between rent and groceries, between education and childcare. Communists are not opposed to reforms or participation in bourgeois electoral systems as a matter of principle. We recognize that, absent a revolutionary movement, any reforms serve objectively to stabilize and manage capitalism, the exploitation of the working class. We therefore choose an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans: a fight to overthrow this entire rotten system and build a new one in its place.
To carry out this historic mission, we workers have strength in our numbers and in the fact that our labor makes every aspect of the economy run, but this strength lies dormant without organization and direction. Only one vehicle can provide what the workers and people need to liberate ourselves from this daily struggle. That vehicle is the communist party. It is the aim of the Communist Workers' Platform USA to build this party, to take this fight to its end, to break the cycle of Democrats and Republicans.
The 2026 midterms serve as the latest reminder that the working class in the United States is searching for a way out, and the only answer it receives is the snake oil sold by the Democrats and their lapdogs. We cannot afford to rest or take shortcuts in constructing the revolutionary alternative. To build the party, we must reach our fellow workers, organize study groups, plan demonstrations, lead the struggles in the workplaces and in the streets, and grow the ranks of the CWPUSA with militant workers. The working class has demonstrated that it is ready to fight for real change. The question now lies before every worker in the US: continue to vote for one or another oppressor, or build the fighting power of the working class to end capitalism entirely and build the socialist-communist world.
There is no middle road. The working class cannot continue without its own party. A different world is possible and necessary."
newworker.us
