I cover creators at Like & Subscribe, a standalone Ankler Media newsletter that’s being sampled today for paid subscribers to The Ankler. I wrote about whether we’re reaching peak newsletter and interviewed Whalar Group co-CEO Neil Waller about his bets on creator businesses.
Happy Election Day. Two years ago, the political media world seemed to revolve around a handful of guys with microphones. Joe Rogan, Theo Von and the rest of the manosphere helped make podcasts essential stops on Donald Trump’s road back to the White House. Everyone wanted to know how these influencers had become so powerful — and whether they were the future of political media.
What a difference two years makes.
Trump mentions on conservative podcasts have plunged nearly 70 percent from their 2024 election peak. Fox News is losing viewers even as CNN and MS Now are gaining ground. And some of the biggest new political players aren’t household names at all, but independent journalists, YouTubers and Substack writers whom candidates are suddenly courting.
It’s a fittingly fragmented media landscape for an election cycle that never really produced its own Charli XCX “kamala IS brat” moment. But just because the internet feels more fractured than ever doesn’t mean there aren’t winners and losers emerging from the chaos.
I’ve spent time looking at audience numbers, political podcasts and the creators who have become must-stop destinations for candidates (or in some cases, must-avoid!). And I’ve found some surprising reversals in who’s gaining clout, who’s losing it — and whether getting political is even good for an influencer’s business with one of this election’s biggest media winners a political animal who largely stayed out of the election altogether.
Here are my eight winners and losers of the 2026 midterms:
Don’t stop here
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