If you had told me a year ago that polls would showing Democrats and Republicans within the margin of error a few days before this midterm election, I would have said you were nuts. After a couple of off-year wins for Republicans that had the Beltway press corps giddy with excitement, conventional wisdom held that a “red wave” was building, and likely to become a “red tsunami.” Even sober-minded analysts saw the political environment offering at least a comfortable win for Republicans in 2022.

All the fundamentals pointed toward a rout for the Democrats. The president was tremendously unpopular, gas prices were soaring and the relentless coverage of various failed Senate votes, thanks to a couple of Democratic Senate divas, had the administration’s policy agenda circling the drain. Some prognosticators said the Republicans were on track to gain 35 seats or more in the House and very likely a solid majority in the Senate.