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The Trump Presidency and the 2026 Midterm Congressional Elections: Will the Democratic Party take control of both the House and the Senate?

The President's party tends to lose seats in congressional midterm elections thus, if history is any guide, the Democrats will gain seats in this year's fall elections. However, unpopular presidents tend to lose comparatively more seats and voter approval of President Trump's performance in office is, as of this writing, near the low point of his presidency. As a result, the Democrats are encouraged and claim that they will win enough seats in November to take control of both the House and Senate. Come join Dr. Robert Arseneau as he brings his objective analysis to what is happening today in the world of politics in 2 sessions before the mid-term elections and 1 follow-up after the elections.

Lecture 1 will explore how the Trump administration's handling of key issues -- including immigration, the economy, income inequality and "affordability," and the wars in Ukraine and Iran -- have affected voter approval of the President's performance in office.

Lecture 2 will cover additional likely determinants of this year's congressional elections including the reapportionment of House districts, voter turnout, and the role of money and media coverage. Special attention will be given to this year's U.S. Senate contest in Maine between Republican incumbent Susan Collins and her likely Democratic challenger Graham Platner. Additional attention will be given to the open House race in Maine's Second Congressional district between former Republican Governor Paul LePage and a yet to be determined Democrat.

Lecture 3 will present a post-election overview of the outcome of the House and Senate elections and then discuss the implications of the outcome for the relationship between the Trump Administration and the Congress moving forward.

Instructor: Robert B. Arseneau has a Ph.D. in Political Science from U.C. Berkeley, and has taught courses in American government at U.C. Davis, U.C. Berkeley, and Dartmouth College.

Class Information:  This is a hybrid class - held in-person in UM@M’s room SCI 102 and via Zoom and this class will be recorded. The presenter will use a combination of in person and remote presentations.

All facilities at the University of Maine at Machias (UM@M) are fully handicap compliant.  The facilities used by Sunrise Senior College (SSC) at the college have ramps, elevators and handicap accessible bathrooms.  Our offsite functions and activities have various limitations and restrictions and may not be fully handicap accessible.  SSC will endeavor to identify limitations at these to you in advance.

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“Sunrise Senior College does not endorse any appeal or representation made by a presenter, non-profit organization or business during an SSC presentation.  SSC members attending the presentations may wish to pursue additional involvement with the organization or presenter based on the material that was presented and in doing so, they are acting on their own and not as part of SSC.”

This class is available to all current Maine Senior College (MSCN) Members. The general public not wishing to join Sunrise Senior College at this time may attend this class for a $20.00 fee.

Important:  If you are not a current member of Sunrise Senior College (SSC) but are planning on joining SSC as a member today, when questioned about your membership make sure you select the response that “Your SSC membership is current” when checking out so the we can properly bill you for this class.

Sunrise Senior College (SSC) is a membership-based organization. Our SSC members receive special benefits as current members when they register for this course. Any member of another MSCN college is also able to enjoy this course, but may occur some additional charges. If you are a member of the general public, you can take this course but will have to pay additional fees associated with being a non-member. For any attendee that is not a current member of Sunrise Senior College, any materials required for the course are your responsibility. When checking out, please carefully read and answer the questions asked associated with this specific course so that you are charged appropriately for this class. Failure to do this may result in your being cancelled from the course. We hope you enjoy this offering.