 |
13th & ParkAuthor: Ballard Partners
"13th & Park" hosts insightful conversations with special guests covering a broad range of topics from politics and government, to technology, culture, economics and the media. Listeners eavesdrop on what feel like private conversations featuring the savviest and most highly regarded minds in the country. The show, co-hosted by media veterans Adam Goodman and Justin Sayfie, is produced by Ballard Partners in the Ballard Studios in Washington DC. Language: en-us Genres: Government, News, Politics Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Constitutional Reform, Compromise, and What Comes After the Midterms | Larry Sabato on 13th & Park
Episode 69
Monday, 2 November, 2026
Send us Fan MailLarry Sabato, founder of UVA's Center for Politics and the mind behind the legendary Sabato's Crystal Ball, joins Adam Goodman for his third appearance on 13th and Park. With Election Day closing in, Sabato delivers his final midterm assessment: Democrats are poised to gain significant ground in the House, and the Senate, which he says he never would have imagined competitive a year ago given how Republican-friendly the map is, has shifted to a genuine toss-up with Democrats on the edge of 51 or 52 seats.Sabato walks through the races that matter most, from Susan Collins in Maine, where he has stopped trusting the polls entirely after her 16-point swing in 2020, to Texas, where Ken Paxton's scandal-laden candidacy has handed Democrat Tallarico a real opening. He flags Iowa and Kansas as dead heats, praises Ashley Hinson's candidate skills, and notes that Adam Hamilton's unique profile as leader of a major evangelical-leaning denomination makes Kansas far more competitive than anyone expected. His race to watch on election night: Ohio, where Sherrod Brown is making a rare comeback bid against a well-positioned Republican in what was once JD Vance's Senate seat.The conversation broadens into structural territory, revisiting Sabato's 2007 book "A More Perfect Constitution," in which he proposed 23 constitutional changes including a single six-year presidential term, mandatory Supreme Court retirement ages, and universal national service. He is candid that none of his proposals have been adopted, and equally candid that the current political environment makes reform impossible in the near term. His earliest realistic window: January 2029, with a new president and a new Congress. Until then, he argues, Americans are slowly being convinced that a fundamentally sound system is in urgent need of updating, and that compromise, once America's greatest governing strength, has to be rediscovered.Chapters0:00 Intro1:12 Election Night with Larry Sabato2:14 House and Senate Predictions3:41 What's Driving Voter Anger4:49 Democratic Party's Image Problem5:50 Susan Collins and the Maine Race8:34 Texas: Paxton vs. Tallarico10:08 Iowa and Kansas Toss-Ups12:24 Ohio: The Race to Watch13:50 A More Perfect Constitution16:17 Hope After the Election17:43 Final Senate Forecast18:49 Closing ThoughtsFollow Us!X: https://x.com/13thandParkIG: https://www.instagram.com/13th_and_park/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/13thandparkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@13th_and_parkFollow Larry SabatoX: https://x.com/LarrySabatoIG: https://instagram.com/larryjsabatoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LarrySabatoWebsite: https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/#larrysabato #midterms #crystalball #senaterace #ussenate #election2026 #13thandpark #politicalanalysis #susancollins #texassenate #ohiosenate #constitutionalreform #congress #ballardpartners #uvacentreforpolitics #adamgoodman #politics #washington
