‘Done Deal!’ Cook Political Election Guru Says Dems Are Now a Lock to Win the House

Charlie Cook sounds like a man ready to bet a nice chunk of change on the Democrats taking control of the House, following the midterm elections.

The Cook Political Report founder said he thinks the Dems have the House wrapped up — and have a good shot at regaining control of the Senate — during a Sunday interview on ABC’s This Week.

“The House has been kind of a done deal for a good while,” Cook told co-host Martha Raddatz. “But the Senate, a year ago, it wasn’t realistic to think that the Senate might flip, but now, it’s very realistic.”

Cook said he anticipates the Democrats will grab around 20 House seats and about five more in the Senate, with the party making gains in states like Alaska, North Carolina, Iowa, Minnesota, and “maybe” Kansas, among others.

And what’s working for the Dems? Not much, apparently. Cook said his bullish projection for the Dems is based more on voters being upset about President Donald Trump than being attracted to what Democrats are offering.

“It isn’t pro-Democrat,” Cook said. “It’s anti-Trump, basically, and Republicans that have been supportive of the president.”

He added Trump has been “really hurting” the GOP in a lot of states, aside from places like Michigan, where “controversial” candidates like Abdul El-Sayed (D) are running.

Cook went on to describe the 2026 midterms as more of a “Red undertow” than a “Blue wave.”

His analysis comes a few days after an NBC News poll showed Democrats have opened up their biggest lead yet on the Republicans heading into November. The poll showed the Dems have a 52% to 43% advantage nationwide.

On Wednesday, polling guru Nate Silver said the “best hope” for the GOP right now is the polling data is inaccurate, since many voters who sided with Trump in 2024 may be “fed up” with him.

Watch above.

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