Halperin examines the campaign to escape midterm blame
Joe Cunningham discusses Southern races, while Scott Martin offers an optimistic economic outlook in the week's most watched upload.
Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.
2026 Midterm Blame Game: Who’s Taking the Fall?
Election results are not in, but Mark Halperin is already examining who might be held responsible for them. Across a busy slate of 15 uploads, Next Up returned repeatedly to a parallel political campaign: avoiding the blame if November goes badly.
The most watched new upload, "2026 Midterm Blame Game: Who's Taking the Fall?", reached about 17,000 views. Halperin describes Republican sources beginning to point toward President Trump and the White House over affordability, Iran and campaign spending. He also asks where Democrats would direct their frustration if their high expectations go unmet. These are arguments about possible outcomes, not results already decided.
The episode broadens beyond Washington's finger-pointing. Former South Carolina congressman Joe Cunningham discusses Annie Andrews and Democrats' prospects in Southern races, while Scott Martin makes the case for a possible economic boom. Cunningham's discussion also appears in "Can Democrats ACTUALLY Flip the South Blue?" Elsewhere, Buck Sexton considers potential military decisions involving Iran, and Halperin distills debate performances into gaffes and "gladiator moments."
The blame theme carries the strongest momentum, too: the full episode and two related monologues occupy the channel's most active viewing spots. Subscribers were unchanged over the week, and daily viewing is currently well below its usual pace, despite roughly 341,000 views across the seven days.
For friendly context, Interesting Times had a larger weekly audience, while TREX LABS had a quieter week. Halperin's channel remains particularly focused on the question behind the campaign messaging: not just who wins, but who gets the bill for falling short.
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Where next?
The videos drawing views on Next Up with Mark Halperin right now
Why Trump Will Be Blamed for a GOP Wipeout4,779 views · 2026-10-13
Why Isn’t the U.S. Military Targeting These Key Iranian Sites?4,297 views · 2026-10-12
The 2 Critical Ways Candidates Win & Lose Debates3,710 views · 2026-10-12
Will Trump Launch an Attack on Iran Before November’s Elections?3,564 views · 2026-10-12
Can Democrats ACTUALLY Flip the South Blue?3,510 views · 2026-10-14
The 2026 Midterm Blame Game Has Already Begun3,181 views
Who Takes the Blame if Democrats Fall Short?2,116 views
- Channel
- Next Up with Mark Halperin
- Subscribers
- 105,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 341,062
- Videos published this week
- 15
- Video published
- October 13, 2026
- Video views so far
- 17,400
- Views on its first day
- 15,917
The numbers
Here is how the channel's viewing and subscriber count moved this week.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which pair does Halperin use to explain pivotal debate moments?
Halperin calls gaffes and gladiator moments the "2 Gs" of political debates.


