Well, here we are.
Fifteen days until the midterm elections.
And everybody wants to know one thing.
Who’s winning?
Are the Republicans winning? Are the Democrats winning? Who’s going to control Congress? Who’s going to control the Senate?
Well, I’ve got a different question.
What if the American people are finally starting to win?
Think about that for a minute.
I’ve been watching what’s happening across this country, and I find it absolutely fascinating.
According to this morning’s New York Times, Republicans are beginning to pull money out of congressional races they don’t think they can win.
They’re shifting resources around, trying to protect vulnerable incumbents, and spending enormous amounts of money in states they thought were safe.
Kansas!
Can you believe we’re talking about Kansas as a competitive Senate race?
And Iowa. And Alaska.
Meanwhile, Democrats are expanding the congressional battlefield into places that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump just two years ago.
Something is happening.
And I think it’s bigger than either political party.
Now, let’s talk about the money.
Because this is where things get absolutely ridiculous.
According to the article, Republicans have a spending advantage of more than $300 million in competitive Senate races.
Three hundred million dollars!
And that’s just the advantage!
In Texas, Elon Musk has reportedly put $158 million behind Ken Paxton.
One hundred fifty-eight million dollars.
One guy!
And in Ohio, they’re projecting more than $420 million in spending on a single Senate race.
Four hundred twenty million dollars!
Folks, think about what that money could do.
Think about how many teachers we could hire.
How many families we could help.
How many people we could provide healthcare for.
How many roads we could repair.
Instead, we’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to convince people which politician to vote for.
And here’s the really crazy part.
The people spending all that money only get one vote apiece.
Just like you.
Just like me.
Now, I understand that campaigns cost money. Believe me, I’m learning that firsthand.
But when a handful of billionaires and political organizations can pour hundreds of millions of dollars into our elections, we’ve got to ask ourselves a serious question.
Who’s really driving our democracy?
The voters?
Or the people writing the checks?
That’s one of the reasons I started the Truth Party.
Because I believe we’ve gotten this whole thing backward.
We’ve turned politics into a spectator sport.
We sit around watching television, arguing about politicians, complaining about Washington, and wondering why nothing ever changes.
Meanwhile, the political machinery keeps right on running.
And the money keeps flowing.
But something interesting is happening right now.
People are getting off the sidelines.
Let me tell you what happened right here in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Last week, students from North Carolina A&T State University marched down Market Street to vote.
Their former campus polling location had been closed, and their new voting location was farther away.
So what did those students do?
They organized.
They got together.
And they marched.
And when I saw those images, I couldn’t help thinking about four other young men from North Carolina A&T.
Four students who sat down at a Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960 and helped change America.
Now, I’m not saying these two events are equivalent.
But they share something important.
Young people recognizing that they have a voice.
And deciding to use it.
That’s democracy in action.
Those aren’t spectators.
Those are citizens!
And I’ve been seeing other encouraging signs.
Early voting has started here in North Carolina, and I’ve seen long lines.
People are showing up.
They’re standing in line.
They’re making the effort.
And across the country, organizations are encouraging people to register, make voting plans, and help their neighbors get to the polls.
Now, we won’t know the full turnout numbers until after the election.
But I like what I’m seeing.
Because for the last several months, I’ve been traveling around Greensboro talking to strangers.
I’ve interviewed people from all walks of life.
Young people. Older people. People with money. People struggling to get by.
And you know what I’ve discovered?
Most people want essentially the same things.
They want a decent place to live.
They want safe streets.
They want a good education.
They want access to healthcare.
And they want to be able to provide for their families.
That’s it!
Five basic things.
And somehow, we’ve managed to turn those five basic things into an endless political argument.
Republicans blame Democrats.
Democrats blame Republicans.
Everybody blames somebody.
And meanwhile, ordinary Americans are wondering how they’re going to pay the rent, buy groceries, and keep their families afloat.
According to a recent Washington Post poll cited in this morning’s article, 48 percent of Americans say they’re financially worse off since Donald Trump returned to office.
Nearly half the country!
That ought to get everybody’s attention.
But here’s what I want people to understand.
Being frustrated isn’t enough.
Being angry isn’t enough.
Posting something on Facebook isn’t enough.
Watching my videos isn’t enough!
You’ve got to do something.
You’ve got to register.
You’ve got to vote.
You’ve got to help somebody else register.
You’ve got to help somebody get to the polls.
You’ve got to talk to your neighbors.
And you’ve got to hold your elected officials accountable after the election.
Because democracy doesn’t end when the polls close.
That’s when the next part begins.
And that’s really what the Truth Party is all about.
It’s not about replacing one political party with another.
It’s about changing the relationship between citizens and their government.
It’s about reminding people that this country belongs to them.
Not the billionaires.
Not the lobbyists.
Not the political consultants.
And not the politicians.
It belongs to us.
We the people.
Remember those words?
They’re right there at the beginning of the Constitution.
And I think it’s about time we started taking them seriously again.
Now, I’ve been talking for months about increasing voter participation.
I’d love to see 90 percent of eligible Americans participating in our elections someday.
Think about what that would mean.
Imagine a country where almost everybody voted.
Where politicians had to answer to nearly everybody instead of concentrating on the people most likely to show up.
Where every community had a meaningful voice.
Wouldn’t that be something?
And it starts with this election.
November 3, 2026.
Fifteen days from today.
Now, I don’t know who’s going to win the House.
I don’t know who’s going to win the Senate.
And I’m not going to pretend I do.
But I know who has the power to decide.
You do.
And so does the person sitting next to you.
And the person down the street.
And those students marching down Market Street in Greensboro.
Millions of ordinary Americans.
One person.
One vote.
One voice.
And when enough of those voices come together, something extraordinary can happen.
So here’s my challenge.
Don’t spend the next fifteen days just watching the election.
Participate in it.
Make a plan to vote.
Help somebody else vote.
Have a conversation with somebody who sees the world differently than you do.
And remember something.
You don’t have to agree with somebody to respect their right to participate.
That’s the beauty of democracy.
So who’s winning the race for Congress?
We’ll find out on November 3.
But there’s something far more important at stake than which political party controls Washington.
It’s whether we, the American people, are willing to take responsibility for our own democracy.
And if we do?
Well, I think we might just surprise ourselves.
I’m John Eagleton.
This is the Truth Party.
Turn spectators into citizens.
And I’ll see you at the polls.