The shocking results of the 1966 midterm elections offer timely lessons on both the purpose of off-year voting in the democratic process and the toxic impact of declining trust in a president’s personal credibility. Collectively, the lessons reflect the beauty of the framers’ vision of electorally accountable executive and legislative branches of government.

More personally, the 1966 midterms tell of the rapid fall from grace of Lyndon B. Johnson, one of the most consequential presidents in U.S. history who was responsible for the country’s most critical civil rights legislation.

By Election Day 1966, almost two years had passed since Johnson was elected to the presidency by a huge margin of victory. The spirit of optimism sparked by the John F.…