The New Yorker Magazine – In the weeks leading up to the 2022 midterms, many pundits predicted that a “red wave” of Republican victories would sweep across the country. There was precedent for this: historically, the President’s party tends to lose seats in midterm contests. Republicans picked up some seats, but this year’s returns showed a much more even match than many had been expecting. With votes still being counted, it seems that the G.O.P. will most likely eke out a narrow majority in the House, and control of the Senate may not be decided for weeks. Whatever you call the over-all result in the country’s close political battles, it didn’t quite amount to a wave.

For the cover of the November 21, 2022, issue, the cartoonist Barry Blitt followed a long tradition and chose an animal to represent reality metaphorically: “The chance to draw an elephant—especially one on a surfboard—is irresistible for a cartoonist, but I can’t help thinking how counterintuitive it is to represent the G.O.P. in its current form with such a dignified, graceful, sensitive-seeming beast.”