After nearly every midterm election following a new president taking office, his party loses legislative seats. While 2026 is unique, with nearly unprecedented efforts to change how voters elect their leaders, Republican losses are still likely despite these efforts to stem them.

Hostility for people in opposing political parties in the U.S. has been increasing for decades. Research in political science is at the frontier of more detailed measures of polarization that show what drives those feelings. This research provides insight on what might change the course of the nation.

In her course “America Decides,” Amber Boydstun, a professor of political science, is taking a different approach to teaching electoral politics that helps students to unpack the emotions bound up with their own or each other’s politics.