Every now and then, something happens near the end of an election campaign that jars me to the bone, reminding me of a fundamental truth about these campaigns.

Which is that we never should take anything for granted until they count the ballots.

Let’s flash back to 2016. Every pundit on Earth said Hillary Clinton would win that election. Polling had her leading to the very end. Then the ground rumbled under our feet and lo and behold, Donald Trump ended up being elected POTUS because of the narrow Electoral College majority he was able to sneak across the finish line. Clinton still captured more votes than Trump, but lost the election cleanly, fairly and legally because she lacked the Electoral College votes to secure the victory.

It was, in my view, the political fluke of our lifetime.

I want to mention this because as we head for the stretch run of the 2026 midterm election, every pundit in America — except, perhaps, for a few MAGA pollsters — is saying Democrats are headed for a big win. The House will flip from R to D, they say and it is looking more likely that the Senate will do the same. I keep hearing terms like “blue tsunami,” which of course troubles me. This of course would present Trump with a series of problems he might find insurmountable. I hope to be among those cheering the result if it comes to pass.

I am not going to depend on my ol’ trick knee to guide me. I have been let down too many times to depend on it.

I am acutely aware that we do not have the Electoral College in play for the midterm. However, I am not putting a single thing on Earth past the GOP in its effort to try to swing this election in their favor.