President Donald Trump is making himself the face of the 2026 midterms. The latest polling suggests that could be a problem for Republican candidates.
Trump has increasingly put his own record and presidency at the center of the GOP’s campaign, despite weak approval numbers.
According to The Atlantic, the president has decided to use money from his super PAC for “a series of television advertisements about his own record that will serve as a backdrop to the hundreds of individual House and Senate contests.”
But while the midterms are widely seen as a referendum on Trump’s leadership, polls increasingly suggest his performance is what’s putting voters off.
A CBS News/YouGov poll of 2,460 U.S. adults conducted from Sept. 8 to Sept. 11 found that 48 percent of likely voters said a Trump endorsement would make them less likely to support a candidate, compared with just 21 percent who said it would make them more likely.
A separate Financial Times/Focaldata poll found 46 percent of voters believed Trump was making it harder for Republican congressional candidates to win. Among independents, 47 percent said a Trump endorsement would make them less likely to back a candidate.
It comes as Trump’s approval ratings are sinking. The CBS survey put his approval rating at 39 percent, with 61 percent disapproving.
That is largely due to Trump’s deeply unpopular war in Iran, which he began in February without congressional authorization.
Since then, polls have shown Trump’s popularity tanking.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
The conflict has also closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil shipments, driving up energy prices worldwide.
Brown University’s Iran War Energy Cost Tracker estimates that Americans have now spent more than $100 billion in additional gasoline and diesel costs since the conflict began, with the average household paying more than $750 extra.
AAA puts the national average for regular gasoline at about $4.32 a gallon, up from $4.14 over Labor Day weekend, while diesel has hit a record $6.23 a gallon.
The economic squeeze is hitting Trump’s numbers hard.
Just 34 percent approve of his handling of the economy, while only 27 percent approve of his response to inflation, according to the CBS News poll.
Nearly three-quarters of registered voters say rising prices have also caused financial hardship or other problems for their families.
That is bad news ahead of the midterms, with the economy and cost of living high on voters’ list of concerns.
And with Trump making the midterms all about himself, the latest CBS poll suggests voters are currently leaning towards Democrats.
Fifty-four percent of likely voters said they would support the Democratic candidate in their congressional district if the election were held today, compared with 46 percent who backed the Republican candidate.
With the polling so bleak, the president’s decision to make himself central to the midterm campaign is raising concerns within his own party.
Republican strategist Doug Heye made the criticism bluntly during an appearance on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.
“Republicans know that their back is against the wall,” Heye said. “The Trump campaign has not been spending money to help Republican candidates like it needs to.”
“Donald wants to spend money on himself,” Heye added bluntly. “He doesn’t want to give things away. He wants Republicans to earn it, so we still have The Apprentice playing out here, to some extent… The other issue is then what Donald Trump talks about, whether he’s off topic or not, or when he’s on topic, he tells voters, ‘We’ve never been hotter or richer,’ and voters don’t feel hot or rich right now.”
