Ranking members of the Republican Party are feeling fearful over private polling that shows them at serious risk of losing both the House and Senate in upcoming midterms.
Insiders told Axios on Friday they’ve seen private surveys that suggest increasingly competitive races for the Senate in even conservative states like Iowa, Alaska, and Ohio, as well as established battlegrounds like North Caroline, Maine, and Michigan.
“A year ago, I would have told you we were almost guaranteed to win the Senate,” one strategist told the outlet. “Today, I would have to tell you it’s far less certain.”
Donald Trump’s ratings are currently in the toilet on everything from the dismal state of the economy to his nationwide immigration crackdown and increasingly bullish stance on the world stage, all flagship policy areas on which he ran his campaign.
His approval numbers stand at 39 percent, per the latest polling by NPR. A similar January survey by Emerson College found Democrats hold a roughly six-point lead over Republicans ahead of November’s midterms.
That lead has roundly spooked even stalwart MAGA loyalists. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, a long-standing Trump ally, reportedly held a closed-door meeting with GOP colleagues Tuesday to discuss the Democratic Party’s present advantage.
“Scott explained how Republican candidates could still prevail in November if they emphasize the tax cuts in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act and focus on affordability issues,” Axios reported of that summit.
Affordability remains a salient concern among voters as inflation remains persistently high, with increased costs of essentials like groceries, energy and utilities reported to be hitting lower- and middle-income families hardest.
Trump, a billionaire, has decried concerns over the rising cost of living nationwide as little more than a Democratic Party “hoax.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, has called on party officials to do more to rally around the president’s message of having created one of the greatest economies in history.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment on this story.
