Joel Pollak, opinion editor of the California Post, joined Ezra Levant on The Ezra Levant Show ahead of the U.S. midterm elections to size up what Republicans face and who might lead each party in the 2028 presidential election.

Pollak said Democrats have a good chance of taking the House, but it is “not really a guarantee.” He pointed to heavy redistricting and a slim Republican majority, and called the Senate “a fight on multiple fronts.”

Even if Democrats win both chambers, he said, Trump has not relied on Congress for most of what he has done. “A lot of what Trump has been doing has been unilateral through executive actions. So he will continue to do that. Congress will try to reel him in.”

Pollak predicted “an endless fight” leading into the presidential election, including attempts to block judicial nominees if Democrats take the Senate.

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On Texas, Pollak said Democrat James Talarico’s strong polling owes more to Ken Paxton’s weakness than to his own appeal.

“If Talarico wins Texas, it’s largely because Republicans just couldn’t stomach Ken Paxton,” he said, though he expects the state will “barely stay in the Republican column.” Recent polls have Talarico narrowly ahead.

In Michigan, Pollak said he does not think Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will win the Senate seat. “I might regret saying this after election day, but I don’t think he’s going to win,” he said, citing El-Sayed’s “aggressive demeanor” when challenged.

Looking ahead to 2028, Pollak said J.D. Vance “can win” the Republican nomination, but that the vice-president “can’t win a general election.” 

He called Gavin Newsom the Democratic frontrunner because he is “very good at cultivating an image of competence, even if not a reality.”

In Pollak’s view, the matchup decides it: “If it’s Gavin Newsom versus J.D. Vance, Gavin Newsom will be your next president. If it’s Gavin Newsom versus Marco Rubio, Rubio wins 40 states and he’s your next president.”