The midterms didn't produce a wave. Here's what that's meant historically.
Historically, first midterms are cold showers for the occupant of the White House.
Midterm elections are expected to push back against the party of the president who won two years earlier. This week's vote was surely a pushback on President Biden, but a far weaker one than had been widely foretold.
Moreover, the results could also be read as a partial rebuke of the previous president, Donald Trump. While not on the ballot, Trump had promoted surrogates in the primaries who embraced his claims about the 2020 election. Trump was able to secure GOP nominations for many of his handpicks and some won this week. But in marquee races for senator and governor and secretary of state, his stand-ins did not fare well.
