Democrats Work To Transcend Weak Party Brand By Exploiting Trump's Problems

WASHINGTON — As members of Congress hole to caput location for summertime recess, some parties are reckoning pinch their respective weaknesses and monitoring cardinal changes to nan emerging 2026 landscape.

Democrats, saddled pinch record-low ratings for their party, are seeking a jolt of power from appealing section candidates who tin credibly declare region from nan nationalist marque and nan disappointments of 2024. Republicans are looking to waste voters connected nan astir celebrated aspects of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” though Trump’s ain ratings person slid this twelvemonth and polls show nan sweeping rule to beryllium unpopular overall.

It each comes arsenic some parties are gearing up for adjacent year’s midterm elections, which historically thin to beryllium a referendum connected nan president. Republicans power some chambers of Congress, pinch Democrats needing to nett 3 seats to return power of nan House and 4 to flip nan Senate.

The president’s statement traditionally loses seats successful a midterm year, though new Republican redistricting efforts could bolster Trump’s GOP. Democrats look a steeper climb successful nan Senate, pinch astir of nan Republican seats up successful 2026 successful reddish states.

Still, Democrats are much optimistic lately that voters’ disdain for their statement will subside — and that a operation of unpopular Trump policies, beardown Democratic candidates, precocious guidelines enthusiasm and a vulnerable Republican conjugation could tilt nan midterm battlefield successful their favor.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who chairs nan party’s Senate run arm, said she sees Democratic prospects improving and predicted a “backlash” reminiscent of nan 2006 midterms, erstwhile she was first elected to Congress and Democrats pulled disconnected astonishment wins successful reddish states.

“I deliberation nan Republican mostly is astatine consequence because of a bid of recruitment failures, damaging primaries and their very toxic scheme that slashes Medicaid and spikes costs,” she said.

Republicans accent that they stay successful a beardown position.

“We consciousness very confident. Certainly not complacent, but confident,” said Alex Latcham, executive head of nan Senate Leadership Fund, nan GOP ace PAC aligned pinch Senate Majority Leader John Thune. “We’re taking thing for granted.”

Democrats’ bruised brand

While they consciousness optimistic astir their midterm prospects, Democrats admit that they person a marque problem.

Polls taken passim 2025 have shown record-low ratings for nan Democratic Party, pinch nan GOP faring better, though besides successful net-negative territory. A Quinnipiac poll this period recovered that voters gave Democrats successful Congress a dismal 19% support rating, pinch 72% disapproving. Even self-identified Democrats disapproved by a 13-point margin.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., who chairs Democrats’ House run committee, acknowledged her party’s marque problem successful a caller speech pinch reporters. She said House Democrats person to activity to transcend it pinch “great candidates” who connection “authentic” messages for their districts.

Voters “are perfectly disappointment pinch nan dysfunction, nan chaos that they spot successful Washington, D.C. And they want beardown representatives who are going to guidelines up for them,” DelBene said.

DelBene suggested much than a twelve House Democrats were capable to triumph past twelvemonth moreover arsenic Trump carried their districts “because we had group who were talking straight to voters, who were talking astir nan issues that matter.”

Some Democrats besides statement that nan debased ratings are driven successful portion by Democratic voters who are unhappy pinch their ain statement but who won’t beryllium inclined to support Republicans.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said nan polls show “there are a batch of Democrats retired location who want america to beryllium fighting harder,” arguing that his statement tin move nan problem into an advantage.

“Trump is lighting our populist connected fire, and truthful it’s frankly a bully motion that there’s a batch of Americans who spot nan threat that he poses to people’s wellness care, to our measurement of life, to our very democracy, and want their leaders present to beryllium opinionated up and fighting,” Murphy told NBC News. “I understand that those numbers look benignant of harrowing for Democrats, but astatine immoderate level, it’s a bully sign.”

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is retiring, besides warned that nan Democrats’ debased standing won’t prevention nan GOP adjacent fall. He noted that nan Republican Party’s wide marque was successful unspeakable style nan twelvemonth earlier nan 2010 GOP activity election. NBC News’ July 2009 canvass showed 28% of respondents viewing nan Republican Party positively, versus 41% who viewed it negatively.

“I would spell backmost and punctual everybody to look astatine astir nan 2009 clip framework erstwhile nan aforesaid benignant of assessments were being made successful reverse,” Tillis said. “We should return thing for granted. We should each presume we’re moving from behind.”

The hunt for 2026 candidates

Both nan House and Senate majorities tally done territory Trump won successful 2024.

House Republicans are defending conscionable 3 districts Trump mislaid past year, while 13 Democrats are defending seats Trump carried, according to an study of predetermination results from nan NBC News Decision Desk.

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, request to nett 4 seats to return power of nan chamber, and conscionable 1 Republican, Maine’s Susan Collins, represents a authorities that besides backed erstwhile Vice President Kamala Harris past year. Any way to nan mostly requires Democrats to triumph a fewer states Trump carried by double digits.

Pressed connected which seats she sees arsenic competitory capable for Democrats to flip, Gillibrand declined to sanction states but said “there’s astatine slightest 7 aliases 8 states that are going to beryllium successful play because of nan quality of their agenda.”

Joanna Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for nan National Republican Senatorial Committee, laughed erstwhile asked astir Gillibrand’s contention that 7 pickups are a possibility.

“Democrats are facing historically debased support ratings of 19% because their illusion leaders attraction connected extremist policies that are unpopular pinch voters,” she said, adding that Republicans are moving to “lower costs of living, destruct authorities fraud and waste, and support males retired of girls’ sports.”

Democrats are trying to trim into nan red-tinted representation pinch circumstantial candidates who person demonstrated crossover entreaty before. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who conscionable jumped into nan title to win Tillis, has won six statewide elections since 2000.

He’s connected a collision people pinch Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley, who launched his ain run Thursday aft Trump asked him to run.

Tillis warned Tuesday that Cooper will “no doubt” beryllium a formidable candidate.

In Ohio, a authorities improbable to person a heavy contested Senate title without a peculiarly beardown Democratic candidate, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has doubly traveled to nan authorities successful caller months arsenic portion of an fierce recruitment effort targeting erstwhile Sen. Sherrod Brown, who mislaid his spot to Republican Bernie Moreno past twelvemonth contempt outrunning nan apical of nan ticket. Schumer’s latest sojourn came past week, a root acquainted pinch nan gathering confirmed to NBC News. (The gathering was first reported by Axios.)

Brown has been contemplating a comeback but is torn betwixt nan thought of moving for Senate aliases moving for politician successful 2026, which would springiness his statement a top-tier campaigner to return connected Trump-endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy.

In Texas, meanwhile, immoderate Republicans are worried astir scandal-tarred Attorney General Ken Paxton defeating Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, successful nan superior and jeopardizing a safe spot successful nan wide election.

“Number one, he’s not going to win. But number two, if he were to win, I deliberation it would jeopardize nan president’s agenda,” Cornyn told NBC News. “It would beryllium nan first nonaccomplishment of a statewide title by Republicans successful 30 years. So it’d beryllium a disaster.”

“All that money could beryllium utilized to prime up Senate seats successful Georgia, New Hampshire and Michigan,” he added. “But we don’t request — we don’t expect to springiness Democrats that opportunity.”

GOP challenges

Democrats person besides been buoyed by caller polls pinch informing signs for Trump and Republicans defending their slim majorities successful Congress.

The president’s support standing has declined by a nett 8 points since April, per a caller Fox News poll. Voters stay unhappy pinch nan costs of living, and nan president’s ratings connected handling prices and nan system person tanked — though voters besides divided evenly connected nan mobility of which statement they trusted much to grip those issues.

Trump’s “big, beautiful” law, which some parties telephone nan defining rumor successful nan midterms, is besides broadly unpopular, though immoderate provisions get precocious marks.

And nan GOP faces a unsocial challenge: turning retired Trump supporters who don’t show up arsenic regularly erstwhile he isn’t connected nan ballot.

Democrats person besides stumbled connected an rumor that provides a uncommon opening to thrust a wedge betwixt Trump and his base: encouraging MAGA-world disapproval of really nan management has handled authorities files surrounding convicted activity offender Jeffrey Epstein.

As they prepared for nan monthlong August recess, House Democratic leaders distributed a memo encouraging their members to item nan rumor backmost successful their states and districts.

Republicans, meanwhile, urged their members to run connected nan “big beautiful bill.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee issued a memo connected Monday urging GOP lawmakers to clasp section events and prosecute pinch section media to tout celebrated provisions successful nan bill, for illustration making nan 2017 taxation cuts permanent, expanding nan kid taxation credit, cutting taxes connected tips and overtime pay, and boosting costs for separator security.

“Out of touch House Democrats voted to raise taxes, termination jobs, gut nationalist security, and let wide unfastened borders — it’s nary astonishment their polling is successful nan gutter,” NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said successful a statement. “We will usage each instrumentality to show voters that nan provisions successful this measure are wide celebrated and that Republicans stood pinch them while House Democrats sold them out.”

Republicans person started to tout nan measurement connected nan airwaves. One Nation, nan nonprofit limb of nan main Senate GOP ace PAC, has launched ads praising it arsenic a “working family taxation cut.”

The GOP besides plans to nationalize New York City mayoral campaigner Zohran Mamdani, a antiauthoritarian socialist whose attraction connected affordability and grassroots power powered his campaign.

“While President Trump and Republicans are delivering existent results by lowering costs and securing nan border, Democrats are embracing extremist candidates for illustration socialist Zohran Mamdani and fomenting unit against ICE and Border Patrol agents,” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said.

Still, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., warned that Democrats' anemic marque won’t prevention nan GOP successful nan 2026 election.

“It’ll beryllium a referendum connected nan statement successful power, which would beryllium us,” Hawley said, adding that his statement tin only triumph “by delivering for nan group who elected you, which would beryllium my humble proposal to my Republican friends.”