Senate Republicans worry they’re losing ground in the midterms

GOP lawmakers are struggling to keep their affordability message front and center on the campaign trail.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) emerges from a Senate Republican Conference luncheon at the U.S. Capitol July 24, 2025. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP

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 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.

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