MAGA pollster Matt Towery has admitted he is “concerned” about declining support for the Republican Party ahead of the midterms.
Towery, a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, has previously been one of Trump’s biggest supporters.
His polling firm was among the few that correctly forecast Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016. Four years later, he predicted a win for Trump again, arguing that many pollsters were overlooking “the average guy on the street.” Trump lost that contest to Joe Biden before reclaiming coming back to win in 2024.
He is also widely credited with spotting Trump’s political potential early, urging him to run for president in 2014, pointing to his “star power.”
But it seems that Towery is now losing faith in Trump’s ability to win over voters.
In an interview on Fox News, host Sean Hannity asked Towery which states he believed could offer the GOP its best “pickup opportunities” in this year’s midterm elections.
Towery responded that it is “too early for us to say,” but added that he is “concerned about one thing.”
“And that is Republican turnout,” he admitted.
Towery went on to cite data from May’s primary election in Georgia, which Trump took from the Democrats in 2024 by just 2 points.
Early voting data from the state shows that Democrats turned out 150,000 more early voters than Republicans.
That is a shift from the previous midterm cycle, when Republicans held an advantage in early voter turnout.
“That is not a good sign to me,” Towery said.
Georgia is set to host several closely watched races in 2026.
All 14 of Georgia’s U.S. House seats are on the ballot, while Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is seeking re-election and is expected to face either Republican Rep. Mike Collins or former football coach Derek Dooley, who are competing in a GOP runoff.
Meanwhile, the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp is underway. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms secured the Democratic nomination, while Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and healthcare executive Rick Jackson advanced to a Republican runoff.
So far, polls put Republican Rep. Mike Collins ahead in the Senate race. But Towery thinks the Republicans have much more work to do if they want to secure a victory in the state.
“I think more has to be done now to lay the groundwork. And I’ll also say one other thing. I don’t think enough of President Trump’s achievements are being put out there for the general public to see,” he said.
“They see this—this barrage that’s created by the liberal media. They hear nothing but war. The president has achieved phenomenal things, including, by the way, the stock market hitting another record, I think today.
“But you don’t hear about it, and I think Republicans need to start making that case whether they have to buy ads or whatever, right now, because it’ll be too late in October and November.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Recent polls have shown that Trump is more unpopular than ever amid concerns about the economy, driven by his war in Iran.
Surveys have also shown some of Trump’s key supporters, such as non-college-educated white voters and Latinos, deserting him.
Meanwhile, polling has consistently shown Democrats holding an edge over Republicans in the battle for control of Congress.
The latest New York Times/Siena poll showed Democrats leading Republicans by 11 points in the race for Congress, 50 percent to 39 percent among registered voters.
And some Republicans fear that is because Trump, who has dismissed concerns over rising gas prices and spent much of the past few months promoting his $400 million White House ballroom, is prioritizing his own agenda over efforts to strengthen the party’s position.
Republican strategist Whit Ayres told the New York Times that Trump is straying from the priorities that typically define the party’s electoral message.
“The president was elected to juice the economy, to bring down inflation, to stop illegal immigration and to get away from woke culture,” he said, adding, “If his highest goal were to maintain control of Congress, he would not be doing what he is doing.” Ayres also called the $1.776 billion weaponization slush fund a “whole new level of brazenness.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, who has been one of Trump’s biggest opponents in the party and lost his own primary against a Trump-backed candidate in Kentucky, warned that Republicans could face a difficult midterm environment, saying the party will be “very vulnerable” in the fall.
“It’s true, you can take out Republicans in primaries, but Republicans are going to be very vulnerable this fall,” he told NBC News.
He also warned that internal discontent is growing, describing a wave of “Trump Disappointment Syndrome” among some Republican voters and officials.
“There’s a growing number of people on the right who have a form of TDS called ‘Trump Disappointment Syndrome,’” he said.
“And I think what’s going to happen to the party this fall is they’ve disenfranchised a large portion of that constituency that Trump assembled to get us in the White House, in the Senate majority and in the House majority.”
