Republicans dump cash into red states as they try to hold the line
against Democrats in the midterms
[September 23, 2026]
By JILL COLVIN and AARON KESSLER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are growing increasingly grim about their
chances in November, with aligned groups pumping money into reliably red
states and candidates scrambling to distance themselves from unpopular
White House policies.
From Texas to Ohio and Alaska to Iowa, campaigns are grappling with a
fed-up electorate that is sour on the president and angry over soaring
fuel prices driven by an unpopular war. While Republicans are flush with
unprecedented cash that could move the needle in some races, overall the
mood is glum heading into the election's final stretch as campaigns try
to counter palpable Democratic enthusiasm to maintain their narrow lead
in the House and Senate this November.
“Everybody is tired. You see the poll numbers. Everybody is cranky about
gas prices,” said Jeanette Hoffman, a Republican strategist from New
Jersey. “The party in power is playing defense. This is a referendum on
the incumbents.”
Trump is trying to protect Republicans with cash
After mounting pressure from endangered candidates in battleground
states, groups affiliated with President Donald Trump finally began
unleashing their stockpile of campaign cash earlier this month, joining
with Republican committees that have amassed a record fortune that
dramatically eclipses their Democratic counterparts.
“Republicans have air superiority. House Democrats are scrambling to
catch up with the very limited resources they have,” said Mike Marinella,
a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
But the spending underscores the extent to which Republicans are playing
defense.
Three Trump-aligned groups — MAGA Inc., No Going Back PAC and Safety and
Affordability PAC — have spent more than $163 million on advertising and
air time since Sept. 1. Nearly 40% of that money — more than $63 million
— has been spent in states and districts where Trump won by 10
percentage points or more in the 2024 election, according to an
Associated Press analysis of data from AdImpact, which tracks media
spending and ad buys.
That includes 12 House districts and three states with major Senate
races.
In Texas, Republicans have spent nearly $107 million on ads and
reservations since the beginning of the month trying to bolster
scandal-plagued attorney general Ken Paxton in his Texas Senate race
against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. The spending, which is for
ads through Election Day, is nearly four times as much as Democrats in a
state Trump won by nearly 14 points.
Further north in Ohio, Republican spending to defend Sen. Jon Husted has
exceeded $152 million, compared to $90 million on behalf of Democratic
nominee Sherrod Brown, according to AdImpact.
Terry Casey, an Ohio Republican strategist, said both Republicans and
Democrats are "kind of sitting on pins and needles because of the
national and economic circumstances.” The outcome, he said, would depend
on whether Democrats can turn out voters.
Democrats are competing in red states
States that Trump won by wide margins — like Texas, Iowa, Ohio and
Alaska — have become some of the most competitive battlegrounds in the
midterms.
The White House is even investing time in states that haven't been
considered competitive for years. Vice President JD Vance recently
traveled to Kansas to campaign for Sen. Roger Marshall, who is facing a
challenge from Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton.
The founder of the nation’s largest United Methodist church, Hamilton
received a rousing welcome from scores of people who crammed into a
Topeka coffee shop to see him Tuesday.
“In all my 50, 60 years in politics, I’ve never seen a candidate that
quite has the momentum going,” said Jim Ploger, an 82-year-old longtime
Democratic activist from Topeka who believes Hamilton gives the party
“the best chance we’ve ever had” to win a Senate seat.
Vance has also been to Iowa, Ohio, Maine and North Carolina to bolster
Republican candidates, while Trump is also hitting the road. The week
after the party's unusual midterm convention in Dallas, he traveled to
North Carolina to hold a rally with Michael Whatley, his former national
party chairman. Republicans are increasingly concerned that he could
fall short in his Senate race against Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper.
There are more concerns about Georgia, where Rep. Mike Collins is trying
to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Although Ossoff began the cycle as
Republicans' top target, Collins has endured weeks of negative headlines
about a House ethics investigation and his son-in-law's white
nationalist views.
“I don’t think anyone’s expecting Collins to win,” said Tim Waters,
chairman of the Peach County Republican Party. “Do I like that? No, I
don’t like that. But it’s just the facts.”
In Texas, officials are hoping a huge influx of last-minute cash will
help save Paxton. Sen. John Cornyn, who lost his primary to Paxton after
Trump turned on him earlier this year, isn't so confident.
“I think it’s going to be very rough, lots of headwinds,” he said. “Even
in places like Texas, which are pretty red, we’ve got flawed candidates
who I think are going to have a hard time.”
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President Donald Trump, center, greets the audience at the
Republican convention Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Dallas. (AP
Photo/Julio Cortez)
Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said
the party is focused on turnout and is well aware of the historic
trend in which the party in control typically loses seats in the
midterm.
“We have money to spend and we’re not taking anything for granted
this cycle," she said. “This is very high stakes, and it's
unfortunate that other people feel glum and down. But we’re doing
everything we can to protect and expand our majorities so we’re full
steam ahead.”
Party officials are more bullish on races in Maine and New
Hampshire, where Democrat Kamala Harris won in 2024, and remain
optimistic about Michigan, where Trump won by less than two points
and where former Rep. Mike Rogers faces progressive Democrat Abdul
El-Sayed.
Some Republicans call for an end to the war
Some Republicans are taking steps to distance themselves from Trump
even as he urges his supporters to vote like he is on the ballot.
Rep. Tom Tiffany and Rep. John James, the party's nominees for
governor in Wisconsin and Michigan, both joined calls for an end to
the war in Iran.
"War is terrible, and no one likes war,” James told reporters.
Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, released an
ad in which he also called for ending the war. Standing in a grocery
store, he bemoaned high prices and said the government should
suspend gas taxes and stop diesel exports.
“The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly,” Rogers said.
”Michigan families can’t afford to wait.”
In Iowa, where Republicans are trying to hold onto the Senate seat
being vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, Rep. Ashley Hinson, who
is locked in a tight race against Democrat Josh Turek, voiced the
same frustrations.
“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at
the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran” she wrote on
social media. “These actions to lower costs are needed ASAP, and the
war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end.”
Hinson, however, did not join two fellow Iowa Republicans in
battleground districts — U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette
Miller-Meeks — in voting with Democrats on a resolution intended to
halt Trump’s ability to continue military action without lawmakers’
approval.
Perhaps the most dramatic break with Trump came from Rep. Maria
Elvira Salazar, a Republican defending her seat in a competitive,
majority Hispanic South Florida district. Last week, she released an
ad filmed in front of the White House as she criticized the
president for going “too far” on immigration policy.
Others have continued to scrub references to Trump from their
websites. The latest was Republican Byron Donalds, who is running
for governor in Florida, who recently revamped his site so that it
no longer includes a number of prominent references to Trump and his
endorsement, the Miami Herald first reported.
‘It’s a very competitive environment out there'
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said Trump “is the unequivocal
leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican
Party” and that "the choice has never been more clear: doubling down
on President Trump’s winning, commonsense agenda or the Democrats’
extreme liberal policies and obstruction.”
Some Republicans are acknowledging that voters aren't satisfied.
“We shouldn’t say, ‘Hey everything’s perfect,’ because it’s not,"
said Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio. "But look what we’ve done in 18
months, and we need two more years to finish the job.”
Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, who has traveled across the country
campaigning for his colleagues, said Democrats appeared to have
enthusiasm on their side in the midterms, and he said his party
needed to level with the country.
“You can’t look the American people in the eye and say, ‘Don’t
believe your lying checkbooks,’” he said. “The cost of living
increase is real.”
He also said that voters are “confused about the war” and “they
don't understand how we're going to get out.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was measured in his
assessment on Tuesday.
“Well, I’m hopeful, obviously, but also realistic," he said. “It’s a
very competitive environment out there.”
___
Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Mike
Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, Bill Barrow in Atlanta,
Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas,
and Mary Clare Jalonick, Steven Sloan and Joey Cappelletti in
Washington contributed to this report.
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