Johnson on 2026: ‘It’s a Contrast between Common Sense and Crazy’

August recess may be a break for congressional staff, but it’s a busy, pound-the-pavement time for members. Nobody knows that better than House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who’s on a dizzying 34-district tour across America to hype Republican candidates and keep up his record-breaking fundraising pace. And while the Louisianan knows a little about beating the odds during his time with the gavel, this is no ordinary hill he’s climbing. Facing the stiff headwinds of the economy, the Iran war, and a frustrated electorate, it’ll take some serious magic for Johnson’s party to pull off an upset in November. But then, when it comes to the down-to-earth dad of four, never say never.

Criss-crossing the country for four weeks is exhausting, he admits. “It’s a challenge, to be honest,” the speaker admitted to Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on “This Week on Capitol Hill.” “We’ve been in nine states in [nine] days,” Johnson calculated. “It’s a nonstop 30-day venture seeing the best parts of America.” But sometimes when he lands in a new place, Johnson turns to his staff and says, “Wait — remind me again. What state are we in? What city?” Even so, he smiles, “It’s a lot of fun. I’m campaigning with some of my favorite people in the world — my colleagues and friends.” And the stakes, he reiterates, have never been higher.

Johnson, who talks a lot with former Speaker Newt Gingrich, a man who can certainly empathize with the difficulties of the job, said the two men were having a conversation recently and the longtime strategist turned to Mike with this advice. “He said, ‘You need to think about this midterm election as something different. This isn’t a Contract with America year,’” Gingrich emphasized, pointing to his signature document as speaker. “You guys did that in 2024. You made a lot of promises, and you’ve kept them, so you’ve got a great record to run on.” But this year, the elder statesman emphasized, “It’s a contrast — and a stark one between common sense and crazy. It’s a contrast between common sense and communism. Literally communism.”

The speaker shook his head and reiterated to Perkins, “That’s what we’re facing now. Incredible as it is on the 250th anniversary of the greatest nation in the history of the world, in November of this year, we are going to have an open contest — a fateful cataclysmic battle — between two completely different visions for America. Are we going to maintain our matchless constitutional republic?” he asked. “Or are we going to tear that down to the foundations, as the Democrats are arguing to do? Get rid of all the institutions and everything that we have represented … and go down this dark, dangerous, deadly road of communism? That is the choice for Americans. And they’re beginning to see that. And I think that’s going to be a huge thing for turnout for us in November.”

Shocking primary wins in places like Florida are only fueling the concerns that the Democratic Party has gone off the deep end. And while some in Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’s (D-N.Y.) party are trying to distance themselves from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), their leadership is playing both sides. “I do not support the DSA agenda,” the New Yorker insisted in the same interview that he welcomed socialists as “part of our broad caucus.”

“They call themselves the DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America or other titles,” Johnson warned. “… But this is Marxism. It’s communism. … [They] want to abolish the borders. They want to abolish prisons in America. They want to abolish the U.S. Senate. They want to remove the president. … They want the government to control everything. Literally no private property, no Department of War, all these things. It’s madness.”

But the problem, he continued, is that this isn’t just a handful of people. “This is now the prevailing sentiment in the party. And you have these insurgent left candidates running across the country, not just in deep blue states, but everywhere. And they’re winning. They’re winning their primaries because the energy, the excitement, the grassroots, the money is on the side of this radical, radical insurgent Left. It’s a danger to the country.”

If you’re looking for the moderate Democratic Party of yore, there is no such thing, the speaker insists. People are “frightened,” he said, and it’s one of the reasons they’re turning out to GOP campaign events. Will it give the Republicans an edge in November? Johnson certainly believes so. “I’m very, very encouraged and very bullish about November. I think this is going to be a good year for us.”

And while the headlines might scream otherwise, Republicans aren’t without hope — not by a long shot. The combination of this terrifying socialist surge, Johnson’s spectacular fundraising, redistricting wins, and some closer polling than usual could all propel the GOP into a better position.

“The conventional wisdom among the political punditry for months has been that the Democratic base is ready to unleash a tidal wave of votes and sweep the next generation of progressives into Congress with a majority,” FRC Action Director Matt Carpenter told The Washington Stand.

“While turnout this year in Florida was lower than it was in 2022, the Democratic share of the vote fell short of its 2022 level by more than 260,000 voters, significantly outpacing the drop-off among Republican primary voters. Somehow, worse than their turnout issues this week, was the result: DSA-aligned Angie Nixon will be their standard-bearer for U.S. Senate,” he cautioned. “I think it’s fair to assume radical leftists, like Nixon in Florida, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, and James Talarico in Texas, will struggle to appeal to a general electorate who holds to common sense on issues like whether minors should be subjected to gender transition procedures or whether men belong in girls’ sports.”

As the speaker said emphatically, “This is a midterm unlike any other we’ve ever experienced before. People need to take note of that,” he urged. “You have to come out and vote in November if you want to keep America free.”

Reprint from The Washington Stand by Suzanne Bowdey – editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

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