# Democracy held in the midterms, scholars say

> Political scientists credit the clarity of results, legal challenges and voter turnout for blocking Trump's attempts to subvert the election.
- Title: Democracy held in the midterms, scholars say · NPR | Shortify
- Summary: Political scientists credit the clarity of results, legal challenges and voter turnout for blocking Trump's attempts to subvert the election.
- Keywords: american democracy, midterms 2026, trump administration, election integrity, political scientists, bright line watch, brendan nyhan, steven levitsky, lorinc redei, voter turnout, NPR
- Source: NPR — https://npr.org/2026/11/06/nx-s1-6029750/american-democracy-was-a-big-winner-in-the-midterms
- Published: 2026-11-06T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: american democracy, midterms 2026, trump administration, election integrity, political scientists, bright line watch, brendan nyhan, steven levitsky, lorinc redei, voter turnout, politics, news
## Democracy itself was the winner
Political scientists say American democracy was one of the big clear winners of the midterms, even as some House and Senate races remained uncalled.
## Scholars feared authoritarian shift
Bright Line Watch surveys political scientists on democracy's health. After Trump took office, most scholars saw the U.S. moving swiftly towards some form of authoritarianism.
## Republicans didn't deny results
Brendan Nyhan, Bright Line's co-director, expected prominent Republicans would deny the election's legitimacy. Instead, the clarity of the result made denial hard. People called it too big to rig.

> too big to rig
## Trump accepted the results
President Trump, who lied about losing the 2020 election, said he would accept these midterm results. Nyhan called this a remarkable turning point after ten years of acute threats to democracy.
## Trump tried multiple subversion tactics
Steven Levitsky, a Harvard government professor, says the Trump administration tried to centralize voter lists, stop mail voting, and engaged in unprecedented national gerrymandering to tilt the House.
## Courts and lawyers blocked the moves
Levitsky credits lawyers who mounted legal challenges and courts that often blocked Trump's moves. The opposition, Democratic Party and civil society were very active in combating the threat.
## Pattern matches Europe's autocrats
Lorinc Redei, a University of Texas professor who grew up in Hungary, says ruling parties with autocratic leaders were toppled in Europe this year after failing on kitchen table issues like inflation and infrastructure.
## Elections still matter, scholars say
Redei says the lesson is clear: if there is significant public outcry against the government and people vote, you lose elections. Elections still matter when voters are engaged.

> Elections still matter. If there's enough significant public outcry against the government and they go vote, you lose elections.
## Voters rejected Trump's management
Brendan Nyhan says the blue wave was far more a repudiation of Trump's management of the economy and the war in Iran than a repudiation of his attacks on democracy.
## Threats to democracy continue
Steven Levitsky says Trump will probably continue authoritarian attempts but will be less successful because he is weaker, Democrats control Congress, and some Republicans may defect for the first time.
## Key takeaway

Political scientists say American democracy was a big winner in the midterms after the system resisted Trump administration attempts to subvert the election.