Top Republicans are growing increasingly anxious that the Senate, once seen as a lock for the party to hold in the midterms, is at risk of flipping as Democrats continue to hammer President Donald Trump for the cost of living and foreign intervention in Iran.
That fear is laid out in a new memo, shared exclusively with POLITICO, from the powerful GOP and Koch-aligned super PAC Americans for Prosperity Action, whose leaders are calling on the GOP to lock in on the cost of living or risk losing power in Washington.
“As it stands today, our view is that the Republican Senate majority is at risk,” AFP senior adviser Emily Seidel and Executive Director Nathan Nascimento write. “Our internal polling in several battleground states and one-on-one conversations with voters show that for the first time, Democrats are more trusted on the economy and inflation.”
Their warning comes with a clear plea for the GOP: Figure out how to message on cost living, and fast.
“The window to act is now,” they said.
In their view, there’s a clear path forward, but it requires a coherent message and “relentless focus on driving costs down and keeping them low.”
“Every policy fight, every floor speech, every campaign event should answer one question—what are you doing to lower the cost of living for working families?” they write.
The memo comes as polling shows Trump’s approval rating continue to slip on economic issues: A Reuters/Ipsos survey released this week found just 22 percent of Americans approved of his handling of cost-of-living issues.
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