CNN Panelists Discuss Midterm Strategy for Campaigns Ahead of 2026
Byline: Olson Strategies Staff
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Dustin Olson, lead pollster at American Pulse Research & Polling and Managing Partner at Olson Strategies & Advertising, uses his Political Trade Secrets podcast to pull back the curtain on how campaigns work, how political strategy is built, and what candidates in both parties should be watching. The show regularly features guests from across the political spectrum, including strategists, pollsters, candidates, communicators, and operatives with different perspectives on what actually moves voters.
On a recent episode, Olson was joined by fellow CNN panelist Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist known for his direct style, working-class messaging, and trademark cowboy hats.
The conversation focused on Republican and Democratic messaging heading into the 2026 midterm elections, with Rocha offering advice for both parties about how to talk to voters in a political environment shaped by costs, wages, border security, gas prices, and economic pressure.
Olson first asked Rocha—a Texas Democrat known for wearing cowboy hats—to “change hats” and give Republicans some advice for the midterms.
Rocha, who was wearing a white hat at the moment, reached up and out of the camera shot to grab his black hat, literally changing hats in real time. As if almost changing beings, the Democrat proceeded to offer Republicans spot-on advice: Focus on a simple message, promises made, promises kept.
His advice was not that Republicans should pretend conditions are perfect. Instead, Rocha said GOP candidates should acknowledge real concerns facing voters, including Iran, gas prices, and the cost of living, while pointing to areas where they have delivered.
One example: border security.
“I would lean in on what you’ve done that was well, which is the border,” Rocha said.
Rocha also advised Republicans to talk about popular parts of their legislative record from a “30,000 feet” perspective, including policies such as ‘no tax on tips’ and tax relief for Social Security.
His suggested frame: Republicans are not finished, but they have made progress, while Democrats are focused on opposition instead of offering a plan.
For candidates, campaigns, and political observers, the exchange underscored a broader point American Pulse Research & Polling tracks in its polling, surveys, and public opinion research: voters often respond less to abstract ideology than to concrete claims about safety, wages, costs, and results.
Later, Rocha turned to his own party and offered a blunt assessment of what Democrats need to do differently.
Switching back to his white hat, Rocha said Democrats should start by telling voters the truth: the party has “lost our way a little bit” and needs to return to the everyday economic concerns facing American families.
“We’re going to start the conversation here with you and your family, and how you pay your bills,” Rocha said.
His advice to Democrats was direct: every message in 2026 and 2028 should answer two questions.
How will Democrats lower costs?
And how will they help voters make more money?
“Democrats, it’s okay to say it’s good for people to make more money,” Rocha said.
For candidates in both parties, Rocha’s advice pointed to the same strategic lesson: voters want to hear less abstract messaging and more concrete answers about their lives.
Whether Republicans are defending their record or Democrats are trying to rebuild trust, the 2026 midterms may come down to which side can speak most clearly about costs, wages, safety, and results.
That is the kind of voter sentiment American Pulse Research & Polling studies through benchmark polling, brushfire polling, and tracking polls using multimodal surveys to provide polling briefings, topline results, crosstabs, and strategy sessions for clients across the political, public affairs, and private sectors.
American Pulse Research & Polling works with Republican, Democratic, nonpartisan, and private-sector clients and organizations, helping them turn data-driven insights into clearer strategy and better decisions.
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For campaigns, advocacy organizations, companies, and public affairs teams, the lesson is clear: winning strategy starts with understanding what voters and audiences actually think, crafting a message to speak to that, and formulating a plan to execute on it.
For organizations that need strategy and execution, Olson Strategies & Advertising provides campaign strategy, advertising, direct mail, fundraising support, voter-contact programs, and strategic messaging.
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