SAN DIEGO — Writing a column won't win you any popularity contests. At least, not if you do it correctly.

Yet, for the nearly 40 years that I've been expressing my opinion in print, I've held firm to one unpopular opinion in particular. It goes like this: The political parties are more alike than they are different.

I first noticed it a couple of decades ago with things like pay raises and pensions, and how lawmakers tended to vote unanimously on the benefits that lawmakers accrue through years of service. Then I saw it again with regard to executive power; how the parties felt about a strong presidency depended entirely on whether they held the White House. Then it moved on to issues like immigration, so-called "lawfare" and policing. Neither party had any firm set of beliefs. Where they stood depended entirely on their interests at a given moment. And when their interests shifted, so did their position.

My friends — both Republicans and Democrats — reject any suggestion of "sameness." In fact, they think I couldn't be more wrong.

But what would we expect them to say? Each party raises hundreds of millions of dollars based on the premise that they're fighting a high-stakes battle of good vs. evil. That's the sort of rhetoric that makes the checks roll in. Of course, which party gets cast in what role depends on who tells the story — and where the story gets told.

In the end, the 2026 midterms were about several things.

First, they were a blunt repudiation of President Donald Trump's policies and an "F" on the report card of the first two years of his second term. Trump failed his most important courses: Inflation 101, Introduction to War With Iran, The Fundamentals of Gas Prices, How to Overreach on Immigration Enforcement, etc.

Next, they were a massive hiring spree to bring in new talent — Democrats who could oversee the workings of the legislative branch. If nothing else, voters have learned that the Framers were right to see the virtue in divided government and partisan gridlock. When one party controls all three branches, the tree gets destroyed.

Also, the midterms were a reckoning for Latino voters who showed up en masse to condemn ICE raids that have proven to be both awful and unlawful. Latinos — including those who supported Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024 — feel they were lied to, when the con man-in-chief said he would only deport the worst of the worst.

At the same time, they became a forum for bigots to "otherize" candidates who aren't WASPs as not quite "real" Americans. See: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is Indian American and, most notably, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul el-Sayed, who is Muslim.

They also helped platform racial politics, as when Vice President JD Vance — who seems to aspire to be America's top white nationalist — ironically accused el-Sayed of stroking "anti-white racism."

I guess that's what they call it these days when a person of color dares to defend himself instead of letting himself be caricatured.

But the midterm elections also gave the party faithful in both camps a chance to double down and support the devil they knew. Not many Americans seemed ecstatic about their choice, but they sure got worked up about opposing the choice put forth by the other side.

Go to Texas, and you'll hear Republicans say they're the only party that cares about traditional family values and religious virtue.

Most Texas Republicans probably know their Senate candidate, Ken Paxton, is a deeply flawed and hopelessly corrupt fellow who can't be trusted to hold the cookie money for Girl Scouts. Yet, they won't acknowledge what they know, finding it easier to shift attention to what they see as warning signs about Democrat James Talarico.

Go to California and you'll hear Democrats insist they're the only party that cares about saving democracy and protecting immigrants.

Most California Democrats probably realize their gubernatorial candidate, Xavier Becerra, is weak, boring and apt to defend his party before he sticks his neck out for the marginalized. Yet, they won't acknowledge what they know, finding it easier to shift attention to what they see as the flaws of Republican Steve Hilton.

The party faithful have it all wrong. In the short term, staying within your comfort zone — even if it means doubling down on inferior candidates — might seem like a safe way to win elections. But, in the long run, settling for mediocrity makes it that much harder to lead.

And isn't that supposed to be the endgame to all this?

To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Janine Robinson at Unsplash