Republicans are playing defense deep in their own territory as voter anger over price hikes puts more House and Senate seats in play in the midterms.<\/p>\n

New rounds of big spending, visits from Trump administration officials and private conversations among top GOP officials overseeing the battle for control of Congress reveal a party rushing to shore up red seats and states President Donald Trump won handily in 2024.<\/p>\n

In the House, the fight has expanded far outside the few-dozen seats considered the most competitive as Republicans start to unleash their massive warchest: Since Aug. 1, more than $110 million in ad bookings have gone toward Republican-held districts so red that Trump won them by double digits.<\/p>\n

In the Senate, Republicans are racing to shore up Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted as the Midwest struggles under the weight of Trump’s tariffs and high diesel prices. Trump and Vice President JD Vance are both expected to travel to the state before the midterms to boost Husted, according to four people familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss not-yet-public plans.<\/p>\n

GOP leaders are also trying to keep a handle on contests in Iowa and Kansas \u2014 and they’ve quietly begun deprioritizing Georgia and even North Carolina, which a growing number of Republicans are privately bracing for Democrats to flip.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to stop the contagion,\u201d said one senior GOP official, who, like others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the midterm landscape.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe map is hilariously big right now,\u201d said one national Republican pollster.<\/p>\n

Since Aug. 1, nearly two-thirds of advertising funds in House races have been booked or spent in races with GOP incumbents, according to a Blue Light News analysis of data from AdImpact, which tracks political advertising.<\/p>\n

That includes nearly $18 million to embattled Rep. Max Miller<\/a> in Ohio\u2019s 7th District; $14.6 million to Texas\u2019 15th District where Monica De La Cruz faces a challenge from Tejano Singer Bobby Pulido; $9.6 million in Alaska where Rep. Nick Begich faces a challenge from independent Bill Hill; and millions more to other districts that Trump carried by double digits two years ago.<\/p>\n

The GOP holds a massive cash advantage<\/a> over Democrats \u2014 which, for now, means they can afford to spend more broadly. Republican groups are dividing up the spending deluge in the final weeks ahead of the midterms, with Trump\u2019s MAGA Inc. affiliated super PAC spending heavily to shore up safer red seats and deter Democrats from pushing into those races.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe voter enthusiasm [for Republican voters] is not where it needs to be but that\u2019s where a money advantage can make a really big impact,\u201d said Mark Bednar, a GOP strategist and former communications director for then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy.<\/p>\n

Republicans have adjusted their Senate map expectations: They\u2019re still bullish about Maine, Michigan and New Hampshire. They\u2019re not as optimistic about North Carolina<\/a> \u2014 which Trump won in 2024 \u2014 but they are hoping to force Democrats to spend more there.<\/p>\n

Republicans are more concerned about Alaska and Texas. And their worries about Ohio have escalated amid soaring diesel prices and backlash to tariffs \u2014 challenges they\u2019re also confronting in Texas, Iowa, Michigan and Kansas.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Already two battleground candidates have called for ends to the Iran war, pointing to the high prices: Iowa GOP Senate nominee Ashley Hinson<\/a>, whose team has grown increasingly wary<\/a> of the tight race and Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers<\/a>. Both Hinson and Rogers use top Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio to guide their campaigns.<\/p>\n

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Hinson\u2019s and Rogers\u2019 remarks.<\/p>\n

Senior GOP operatives’ own internal polling shows Trump’s approval underwater in deep red states across the country. And an Iowa poll conducted last week by a Democratic-leaning pollster found Democrat Josh Turek with a one-point lead in the Senate race and Trump\u2019s approval at 43 percent in the state he won by more than 13 percentage points in 2024, according to a copy of the poll obtained by Blue Light News.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs more races come online, it very clearly is a defensive map for Republicans across the country,\u201d said a national GOP strategist working on multiple battleground races.<\/p>\n

In Ohio, Republicans are optimistic that their attacks on former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown\u2019s voting record are starting to break through, based on recent internal polling. But they\u2019ve been conveying to outside groups for weeks that they need help reinforcing vulnerable incumbents like Husted. On Monday, the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake said it planned to unleash $30 million<\/a> against Brown, who was the top Democrat on the Banking Committee before losing reelection in 2024 \u2014 fueled in part by more than $40 million against him from Fairshake that year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stakes go far beyond one Senate seat,\u201d Amy Natoce, a Husted campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. \u201cControl of the Senate will determine which agenda moves forward in Washington: Sherrod Brown’s out-of-touch socialist agenda, or Jon Husted\u2019s agenda of lower taxes, a secure border, and an economy that rewards hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>One Michigan Republican acknowledged the immense weight of the tariffs in races across the battleground state \u2014 including in the marquee Senate contest between Rogers and progressive Abdul El-Sayed, as well as across competitive House races.<\/p>\n