In electoral politics, it is usually the party that is out of power that promises that a victory will end the rule of an unpopular congressional majority or president.
The usual message coming from a minority party during a midterm election is that they should be elected to serve as a check on the president. The message of checks and balances has an inherent appeal to many voters, because the system of checks and balances between the three branches of government is baked into America’s national DNA.
In modern American electoral politics, one party’s control of the federal government is never popular for very long. Our system of governance was meant to be representative of all voices, so when a set of voices becomes too dominant, voters tend to push back to restore balance.
What is very strange is the party in power trying to maintain their majorities not by touting their accomplishments of laying out a vision for the future, but instead promising that their power will come to an end if they lose, which is exactly what those who are trying to defeat them are seeking.
It is a bizarre and counterproductive argument, but it is the one that Republicans have settled on.
Mike Johnson seems to be trying to lose the midterm election, as you’ll see below.