John Oliver had a lot of fun at two people's expense after Democrats won big on election night.
John Oliver spent his Nov. 8, 2026, episode of Last Week Tonight celebrating a sweeping Democratic win in the Nov. 3 midterms while mocking Elon Musk and Michigan politician Haley Stevens as the night's biggest losers, according to Variety. Oliver said Democrats took back Congress in dramatic fashion.
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John Oliver Last Week Tonight Midterm Victory Lap
Oliver opened the show sounding almost surprised by how good the news was. "It has been a busy week and, given the midterm results, a pretty good week, too!" he told viewers, according to Variety. He added that Democrats "won so big on Tuesday it was sometimes genuinely hard to take all the positive results in."
That upbeat mood set the stage for the rest of the episode, where Oliver picked apart specific races and specific people. He didn't just celebrate the broad numbers. He zeroed in on individual stories that, in his telling, captured exactly why the night went so badly for certain Republicans and Republican-aligned figures.
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Elon Musk Half Billion Midterm Spending Backfires
The segment's biggest target was Elon Musk. Variety reported that Musk spent close to $500 million during the midterm cycle backing Republican candidates and causes, making him one of the most aggressive political spenders of the entire election. Oliver treated that number as a punchline waiting to happen.
"The half a billion dollars he spent to try and buy the election just went up in flames faster than a parked Cybertruck," Oliver said, per Variety. He then connected the joke to real business news, noting that Musk was reportedly ending Cybertruck production, adding that it "isn't an election result but kind of feels like one."
One of Musk's costliest bets came in Texas, where Variety said he spent roughly $200 million trying to stop Senator-elect James Talarico from winning. It didn't work. Texas ended up flipping most of its statewide races to Democrats, turning a state Musk had poured money into into a symbol of his spending failures. Oliver's framing echoed a similar joke made days earlier on Saturday Night Live, where a Musk impression on Weekend Update struggled to explain away what the show called an "epic" midterm defeat.
Haley Stevens Abdul El-Sayed Michigan Primary Fallout
Oliver's other major target was Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat who had backed Republican Mike Rogers over Abdul El-Sayed during the Democratic primary fight. Oliver argued that move blew up in her face once El-Sayed went on to win.
"Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan, meaning all the hateful shit thrown his way did not work, and also that this woman imploded her own political career for nothing," Oliver said, referring to Stevens, according to Variety. The comment framed El-Sayed's win not just as a Democratic pickup but as proof that Stevens had badly misjudged the race by siding against a fellow Democrat.
Oliver also brought up Republican Sen. Susan Collins' defeat in the same breath, treating it as another symbolic loss for a politician he had previously criticized for voicing doubts about her party before falling in line anyway. Taken together, the segment painted a picture of a night where caution and hedging got punished at the ballot box.
Republican Nazi Ties Warning Set the Stage
This wasn't Oliver's first swing at the midterms. Two weeks earlier, on Oct. 26, he devoted an entire episode to what he called a "worrying trend" of ties between parts of the Republican Party and neo-Nazi or Nazi-adjacent politics, according to Variety's earlier report. That episode discussed Paul Ingrassia, President Trump's nominee for the Office of Special Counsel, after leaked messages in which Ingrassia reportedly wrote, "I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it." Ingrassia later withdrew his nomination.
That same episode covered Brandon Herrera, a Republican nominee for Texas' 23rd Congressional District, tying him to a 2022 video featuring Nazi-themed references and goose-stepping imagery. Oliver also referenced Musk's apparent salute at a rally following Trump's 2025 election win, arguing the moment couldn't be brushed off as a one-time slip. By the time the midterms actually happened, Oliver had already built a case that these associations mattered, making his Nov. 8 victory lap feel like a direct follow-up rather than a standalone rant.
What the Midterm Results Mean Going Forward
Variety's reporting does not include direct responses from Musk, Stevens, El-Sayed, or Collins addressing Oliver's comments, so the reaction so far has mostly played out in late-night comedy rather than official statements. The parallel treatment on both Last Week Tonight and Saturday Night Live suggests Musk's spending has become a go-to punchline across late-night television, not just on HBO.
Politically, the bigger story remains the transition after Democrats reportedly retook Congress, though no hearings, legal challenges, or formal next steps were detailed in the available reporting. On the entertainment side, Oliver's HBO deal reportedly runs through the end of 2027, meaning Last Week Tonight is set to keep covering whatever comes out of this new political landscape well past the 2026 election cycle.
