The Run-Up

The midterm elections have left both parties in a moment of reflection. For Republicans, it’s time to make a choice about Trumpism, but one that may no longer be theirs to make. For Democrats, it’s about how much of their future is inherently tied to the G.O.P.

The votes are still being tallied across the country — but we’re starting to get a picture of what these midterms were all about, and where American politics might be headed. Astead Herndon joins Michael Barbaro, host of “The Daily,” to sift through early midterm election results.

This moment in politics will be defined by shifts at the grass-roots level. It wasn’t long ago that Democrats used to brag about the coalition they had built — full of young people, minority voters and college-educated women. Today, we talk to members of the Democratic base, many of whom no longer see a clear path forward for the party.

This moment in politics will be defined by shifts at the grass-roots level. Today, we talk to conservative voters about the forces animating the midterm elections for them — and what Washington can learn from the people. What do you think of “The Run-Up” so far? Please take our listener survey at nytimes.com/therunupsurvey.

How a 12-year project to lock in political power in Wisconsin could culminate in this year’s midterms – and provide a glimpse into where the rest of the country is headed.

When Georgia flipped blue in the 2020 election, it gave Democrats new hope for the future. Credit for that success goes to Stacey Abrams and the playbook she developed for the state. It cemented her role as a national celebrity, in politics and pop culture. But, unsurprisingly, that celebrity has also made her a target of Republicans, who say she’s a losing candidate. On today’s episode: the Stacey Abrams playbook, and why the Georgia governor’s race means more to Democrats than a single...

How the Republican grass roots got years ahead of a changing country, and whether the Democrats can catch up.

Why we can’t understand this moment in politics without first understanding the transformation of American evangelicalism.

In kicking off the midterms, Joe Biden talked about American democracy as a shared value, enshrined in the country’s founding — a value that both Democrats and Republicans should join together in defending. But there is another possible view of this moment. One that is shared by two very different groups: the voters who propelled Biden to the presidency … and the conservative activists who are rejecting democracy altogether.

It’s March 2013. The G.O.P., in tatters, issues a scathing report blaming its electoral failures on an out-of-touch leadership that ignores minorities at its own peril. Just three years later, Donald Trump proves his party dead wrong. Today, how certain assumptions took hold of both parties — and what they’re still getting wrong — heading into the midterm elections.

“I’m worried that democracy is being eroded.” “The voting system is not secure.” “It’s like the land of no more moderates.” “Nothing in this country here really gives me hope.” As voters are feeling a new level of political disconnect, Astead Herndon asks how we got here and lays out the stakes of the 2022 midterm elections.

The midterm elections are usually a referendum on the party in power. This year, they’re about so much more. “The Run-Up,” starting Sept. 6.

The Run-Up will be back soon. In the mean time, you can satisfy your craving for Michael Barbaro and politics with today’s episode of The Daily, his new show. You can subscribe to The Daily wherever you are listening to The Run-Up.

Michael told you he’d be coming back with something new for you. It’s here. (Well, almost.)

Michael Barbaro, in his last episode as the host of this show, travels to the National Mall on Inauguration Day to ask Donald J. Trump’s supporters, minutes after he is sworn in, what a successful presidency would look and feel like for them. He then joins three of his New York Times colleagues to discuss what the Trump White House might accomplish.

How will history remember Barack Obama? Former Representative Barney Frank talks about Mr. Obama’s adversarial relationship with Republican lawmakers. Who was to blame? And we talk with David Leonhardt, an op-ed columnist at The New York Times who chronicled the Obama administration from the start, and Jodi Kantor, author of “The Obamas.”

How does it feel to be a member of Congress right now, digesting the new reality of a Donald J. Trump presidency? We ask a United States senator.

There’s a lot about the current political moment that we didn’t see coming a year ago. Because predictions are hard — even hazardous. But as the final days of the year tick down, The Run-Up wants to look ahead, carefully, to 2017. So we asked four seasoned Times reporters — Amy Chozick, Jim Rutenberg, Peter Baker and Peter Goodman — to offer a guide to the coming year.

How did Alec Baldwin construct his mischievously exaggerated, hyper-gesticulating, searingly funny portrayal of Donald J. Trump on “Saturday Night Live”? We hear him explain in his own words during a discussion with the journalist Sarah Maslin Nir, who conducted the first interview with Mr. Baldwin about the comedic role. We also talk about the real Mr. Trump’s busy week of global affairs in Germany, Turkey, Russia and Syria.

The most brazen, disruptive and manipulative attack on the American electoral system since Watergate — a vast cyberattack by Russia, aimed squarely at Democrats in 2016 — hinged on a series of human errors and institutional misjudgments. We talk with Eric Lipton and David Sanger, Times journalists who co-wrote a stunning story about out how the hack unfolded, moment by moment. We also talk to a victim of the attack.