Trump’s failures on affordability are sinking the GOP ship for the midterm elections

Published July 30, 2026 2:57pm ET | Updated July 30, 2026 5:55pm ET



After a year and a half of poor polls for the Democratic Party, the political gravity of the midterm elections is starting to set in. Republicans are losing ground, and it can primarily be chalked up to President Donald Trump’s lack of a handle on affordability.

After months of Democrats struggling in generic congressional ballot polling, driven by the party’s (still high) unpopularity, an Emerson poll shows the party leading Republicans 53%-42%. That 11-point lead is bigger than the lead Emerson gave Democrats one month before the 2018 “blue wave” elections, when the pollster had Democrats leading 50%-42%.

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