How did the automotive media cover the 2026 mid-term election results? At least as I write this, the major car-buff websites have ignored the topic. Apparently they see their role as helping you to escape reality — particularly by buying a brand new car! Only smaller media outlets and the trade journals have thus far treated the election with the importance that it deserves.
For example, Jalopnik predicted that a Democratic-controlled Congress could lead to more environmental regulations. Writer Amber Dasilva (2026) wondered whether the U.S. would “start to match European regulations and resume our EV push?”
Short answer: That’s not very likely for the next two years. The reason why is that President Trump could veto any law that the Democrats passed. In theory a veto could be overridden by Congress, but even if the Democrats pick up additional seats as some unresolved races are settled, they would be well short of the two-thirds votes required in both the House and Senate. Thus, their bills would need significant bipartisan support.
In the absence of Republican congressional support for Trump collapsing, it is hard to see how enough of them would vote for Democratic policy bills that toughened environmental regulations. What might have more potential could be efforts to rein in Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs, particularly with Canada.
Automotive News offers more legislative nuance
Automotive News offered a more nuanced take, noting that Democrats might not get very many of its bills signed into law but they could “block Trump administration nominees to key regulatory posts, including at the EPA and NHTSA, limiting his ability to reshape auto policy” (Bolgon, 2026).
In addition, Trump would need Democratic support to pass budget bills. That might plausibly lead to Democrats pressing for “reinstating fines under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standard or reestablishing the $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles” (Bolgon, 2026).
Reporter David Kennedy (2026) suggested that Democratic control of Congress could also help Canada when it comes to trade talks. It will be interesting to see whether Automotive News’ editorial board weighs in again on potential legislation to rein in Trump’s tariffs now that Republican congressional leadership has less power to defend Trump’s policies (go here for further discussion).
Paul A. Eisenstein (2026) speculated that one area of bipartisan cooperation could be legislation to ban the sale of Chinese automobiles in the U.S. However, such a measure might not be a high enough legislative priority in the next year despite pressure from automakers.
In short, Democratic control of Congress could result in the beginning of a shift in federal policies toward the auto industry. That said, Eisenstein (2026) concluded that “Trump’s veto threat could simply result in paralysis unless at least some Republican survivors see their best opportunity is to bring back some level of bipartisanship to government.”
TTAC once again shows how not to talk about politics
The Truth About Cars tends to post more public affairs content than bigger car-buff websites such as Car and Driver, MotorTrend or even Autoblog. However, its most recent election content was a “Question of the Day” posted the day before the election that asked: “Republicans, Democrats or None of the Above?” (Strong, 2026).
TTAC undoubtedly knew that such a red-meat question would bring out the worst in its commentariat — presumably because this will maximize page clicks, and thus advertising revenue. Not surprisingly, the comment thread is filled with hyper-partisan rants. I’m not going to quote from it, but suffice it to say that TTAC no longer has the “best and brightest” commentariat.
Quite the contrary. Here we have a good example of how social media can result in what Tristan Harris calls “human downgrading” (Johnson, 2019). Instead of cultivating a civil and thoughtful dialogue, TTAC’s comment thread heightens polarization and radicalization.
This is why Indie Auto moderates its comment threads. Those who feel that this crimps their style might be happier over at TTAC.
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RE:SOURCES
- Bolgon, Molly; 2026. “Democrats’ midterm victory means more obstacles to Trump’s trade and EV agendas.” Automotive News. Posted Nov. 4.
- Dasilva, Amber; 2026. “Democrats’ Big Win Could Complicate Trump’s Emissions Plans.” Jalopnik. Posted Nov. 4.
- Eisenstein, Paul A.; 2026. “What the Democratic Blue Wave May Mean for the Auto Industry.” The Car Collective’s Substack. Posted Nov. 4.
- Johnson, Eric; 2019. “Tristan Harris says tech is ‘downgrading’ humanity — but we can fix it.” Vox. Posted May 6.
- Kennedy, David; 2026. “Trump’s midterm drubbing gives Canadian auto industry new hope on tariffs.” Automotive News. Posted Nov. 4.
- Strong, Michael; 2026. “Question of the Day: Republicans, Democrats or None of the Above?” The Truth About Cars. Posted Nov. 2.
