How Biden Can Prepare for a Midterm Election Bruising

In 1986 the Republican Party lost the Senate majority, marking the first time in more than three decades that a sitting president’s party had lost a chamber of Congress. In the 3½ decades since, presidents have seen their parties lose control of one or both houses in five midterm elections, and every president since Bill Clinton has experienced such a loss. Political experts take it as a foregone conclusion that President Biden’s Democrats will face that same fate this fall.

Is there anything a president can do? Mr. Biden and his team would be wise to study the experiences of his predecessors. History provides a playbook for what to do to prepare for a midterm reckoning—and what to do should the opposing party take control.