{"id":20005,"date":"2026-03-14T14:01:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T14:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/im-glad-im-not-on-the-ballot-senate-gop-worries-about-its-midterm-edge\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T14:01:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T14:01:50","slug":"im-glad-im-not-on-the-ballot-senate-gop-worries-about-its-midterm-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/im-glad-im-not-on-the-ballot-senate-gop-worries-about-its-midterm-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m glad I\u2019m not on the ballot\u2019: Senate GOP worries about its midterm edge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Senate Republicans are growing anxious about the midterms.<\/p>\n

They once felt like they had a glidepath to keep or even grow their majority in November, unlike in the House, where GOP control is razor-thin and members have become increasingly on edge about Democrats returning to power.<\/p>\n

But the mood is shifting, according to interviews with 10 GOP senators and aides, as the U.S. engages in open-ended war in the Middle East, rising oil prices threaten to slow the economy and President Donald Trump stokes intra-party divisions over an elections overhaul bill known as the SAVE America Act.<\/p>\n

Some GOP senators are now openly predicting a tough battle to hold onto control as their party struggles to keep the focus on affordability policies that lawmakers want to make the centerpiece of their midterm campaign. The Senate passed a major housing bill this week but it faces an uncertain future in the House. Trump himself told Republican lawmakers Monday that housing is not a top concern<\/u><\/a> for voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad I\u2019m not on the ballot,\u201d Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a close Trump ally, said in an interview when asked how he was feeling about the November elections.<\/p>\n

Republican senators are warning that the party writ large needs to hammer home cost-of-living measures \u2014 despite apparent disinterest and distractions from Trump, who they hope will lean into the housing bill fight. Recent polls have shown the Iran conflict and the resulting rise in prices are major worries for voters, even as the president downplays affordability concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnergy prices are high. Everything\u2019s high,\u201d said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), another Trump ally. He added that Republicans should \u201ctake some votes to lower the costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats have to net four seats to win back control of the Senate \u2014 a tall order that still gives Republicans an inherent edge. But Republicans are playing defense in Maine and North Carolina, the two races widely viewed as the most likely flips, and they\u2019re facing a messy Trump-fueled primary in Texas. Republicans view Michigan and Georgia as potential pick-ups, though Democrats think they\u2019ve also been able<\/u><\/a> to put states like Ohio and Alaska in play through strong candidate recruitment.<\/p>\n

Asked about Trump\u2019s claim that the party will be in trouble if it doesn\u2019t pass the SAVE America Act, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters this week that he believed the election is instead \u201cgoing to be about the economy, and that\u2019s why I think we\u2019re focused on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said that midterms are \u201calways a little dicey\u201d during the second term of a presidential administration.<\/p>\n

But under pressure from Trump and a fervent base, Thune is teeing up<\/u><\/a> what will likely be a multi-week debate on what the president calls his \u201cNo. 1 priority\u201d \u2014 the SAVE America Act legislation that would institute tough new citizenship and photo ID requirements<\/u><\/a> in order to cast a ballot. Trump wants to expand this legislation even further to prohibit gender-affirming surgery for children and restrict mail-in voting.<\/p>\n

The bill lacks the votes for Senate passage, yet Thune and his conference are being lobbied hard by the right flank to revamp or eliminate the filibuster as a means of jamming the legislation through \u2014 a strategy that also doesn\u2019t have the votes.<\/p>\n

This intra-party tension is on full display in Texas, where Sen. John Cornyn is facing a May runoff against Texas Attorney General and MAGA favorite Ken Paxton. The elections bill has taken centerstage as Cornyn and Paxton vie for Trump\u2019s endorsement, with Cornyn this week throwing his support behind scrapping the filibuster to pass the legislation.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s pressure campaign over the bill, including his decision to use the Texas race to make a play for its passage, has privately infuriated a broad swath of Senate Republicans, according to two people granted anonymity to speak candidly.<\/p>\n

Republicans have privately conveyed to Trump<\/u><\/a> that the voting measure can\u2019t pass, while Thune has also publicly warned against linking a possible Cornyn endorsement to the bill.<\/p>\n

Trump, however, told Fox News Radio Friday that he still intends to endorse in the race, but the \u201cmain thing I have to do is find out who’s going to get the SAVE America Act approved.\u201d Senate Republicans are fearful that if Cornyn fails to win<\/u><\/a> his runoff, the best-case scenario will cost the party hundreds of millions of dollars to defend against Democratic nominee James Talarico.<\/p>\n

The election bill fight has spilled beyond Texas, as GOP senators are being flooded with public warnings from high-profile figures on the right that voters won\u2019t turn out in the midterms or donate money unless the legislation passes. Trump has said passing the bill will \u201cguarantee the midterms.\u201d<\/p>\n

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said in a statement Friday that Trump \u201cis the unequivocal leader of the Republican party, and he is committed to maintaining Republicans\u2019 majority in Congress to continue delivering wins for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n

“It’s clear that he has delivered for Americans with a secure border, cooling inflation, working-class tax cuts, new trade deals, new drug pricing deals and trillions in investments,” Wales added. “The White House is keen to tout these victories in the months ahead as we continue to work to Make America Great Again.”<\/p>\n

In the meantime, recent polls show that it\u2019s the unfolding Iran conflict and cost-of-living issues that voters care most about.<\/p>\n

Just over half of voters oppose military action against Iran, compared to 40 percent who support it, according to a Quinnipiac University poll<\/u> released this week.<\/a> Nearly three-fourths said they were either very or somewhat concerned the war in the Middle East will lead to higher oil and gas prices.<\/p>\n

In contrast, a Marist Poll<\/u><\/a> also released this week found that 59 percent of Americans, when asked to consider November\u2019s elections, said they wanted to ensure that everyone who wants to vote can do so \u2014 compared to 41 percent, who said their priority was making sure that no one who is ineligible can vote.<\/p>\n

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said in an interview that he gives the president credit for making a \u201ctough decision\u201d on Iran but that \u201cit\u2019s not going to be necessarily good for the midterms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I feel confident? I never feel confident,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tough midterm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) when speaking to reporters this week urged patience on rising gasoline prices but acknowledged if they persist into the summer, \u201cthat\u2019s always bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the GOP conference\u2019s louder Trump critics, was more blunt during a Fox News interview this week, saying it could be a “disastrous election\u201d for the party if the war drags on. Trump announced Friday evening that the U.S. military had carried out a major bombing operation in an apparent attempt to pressure Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway which carries roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil.<\/p>\n

Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), whose state is very much in play with his exit, said he\u2019s seeing parallels to 2018, when Democrats won the House amid deep dissatisfaction with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill and in the Trump White House.<\/p>\n

Tillis, who frequently vocalizes the concerns many of his colleagues express privately, said some Republicans have asked him, \u201c\u2018why are you saying this out loud?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDemocrats are going to \u2026 take advantage of the increase in energy and drive the affordability message and we\u2019ve got to have an answer for affordability,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to be realistic about it,\u201d Tillis added. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a voter enthusiasm gap that we need to address.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senate Republicans are growing anxious about the midterms. They once felt like they had a glidepath to keep or even grow their majority in November, unlike in the House, where GOP control is razor-thin and members have become increasingly on edge about Democrats returning to power. But the mood is shifting, according to interviews with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20005\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}