By Alex Leary and Meridith McGraw

WASHINGTON -- With under six months to go before the midterm elections, Republicans are staring down a litany of challenges: historic trends against the party controlling the White House, fresh economic troubles fed by an unpopular war with Iran and a president who has been dismissive of voter anxieties over rising prices.

To overcome those obstacles, President Trump's allies are counting on massive financial resources -- including an unprecedented $347 million from a Trump-aligned political committee -- and closer coordination on a strategy to flip the economy on Democrats.

The message: Putting Democrats in power will only lead to gridlock.

The goal is to prevent the election from becoming a referendum on Trump and to capitalize on Democrats' bruised public image, people involved in the effort said. To defend their narrow congressional majorities, Republicans will conjure up Biden-era inflation, higher crime and scenes of mass crossings at the southern border, warning voters not to turn back the clock, the people said. And they will argue that a divided Congress wouldn't be able to agree on steps to lower prices.

Though the deck is stacked against them, Trump's allies suddenly see a glimmer of hope, buoyed by their cash advantage over Democrats and legal victories in their nationwide push to redraw congressional-district boundaries.

The White House plans to deploy Trump to motivate supporters who might otherwise stay home and highlight key provisions of the sweeping 2025 tax law -- which every Democrat opposed -- such as tax breaks for tipped workers and seniors. While the president is now burdened with low approval ratings and often drifts off message, aides say he still maintains unrivaled influence among conservatives.

Republicans widely expect a difficult November, and many think control of the House will be lost, while the Senate remains competitive. Trump has created problems for the party, including recent comments suggesting he isn't focused on Americans' financial struggles during negotiations over the Iran war. The war has driven inflation to a three-year high, eating into the benefits of Trump's tax cuts, including higher refunds.

The GOP plans to leverage its deep pockets to finance a barrage of ads, as well as far-reaching voter-contact and turnout operations, according to people familiar with the matter, building on data used in Trump's 2024 campaign. This week, the Republican National Committee announced an "election integrity" program to challenge state election procedures or defend states that have new voter ID requirements, while also recruiting poll watchers. Democrats characterize such moves as voter suppression.

Some Republicans have privately questioned if Trump will unleash any of the $347 million that has poured into MAGA Inc., the super political-action committee aligned with the president, suggesting he will want to hold on to it for other things. Officials with the organization deny that while citing strategic reasons for not revealing more about the plans.

At times, the president has seemed resigned to losing, pointing out that the party in control almost always suffers in the midterms. Privately, Trump has occasionally told aides that he doesn't care about the outcome, according to people familiar with the comments. Those people said Trump has expressed frustration with the party not enacting his agenda, chiefly a controversial elections bill, but that he is nonetheless focused on protecting the majority in November.

This month, Virginia's high court tossed out a voter-approved congressional map designed to produce more Democratic seats, part of the redistricting tit-for-tat that began with Republicans' rare mid-decade redistricting effort in Texas last year. The Supreme Court, also this month, ruled a Louisiana map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, narrowing the scope of the Voting Rights Act and opening the door for states to redraw certain maps ahead of the midterms.

Trump and his aides are ramping up pressure on Republican-led states to pursue mid-decade redistricting plans. Republicans now think they can potentially pick up as many as eight seats in states including Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana and Alabama.

Republicans now have 210 seats marked as safe, likely or leaning toward their candidate compared with Democrats with 207, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, with 18 races considered tossups.

Trump's political comeback in 2024 was built on his economic promises, but Americans increasingly think he has failed to deliver, public opinion surveys show. A CNN poll released this week found that 70% of Americans disapprove of his handling of the economy and 77% -- including a majority of Republicans -- say his policies have increased the cost of living.

"This election is a contrast between the pain families are experiencing in Republicans' failed economy, versus Democrats' plan to lower gas, grocery, and healthcare costs," said Will Van Nuys, deputy executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Americans view both parties negatively, but Republicans plan to cast Democrats as too outside the mainstream, while raising fears over a return of softer crime policies and cuts to immigration enforcement.

"You want to remind voters how bad Democrats are, and the numbers indicate voters are in a mood to accept that," said Neil Newhouse, a GOP pollster not affiliated with the Trump effort. But economic concerns are paramount, and voters are reminded daily of higher costs as they fill up their gas tanks and shop for groceries.

"Until we see some settling down of inflation and gas prices coming down, that is what Americans are going to be focused on," Newhouse said.

The RNC had $116 million cash on hand at the end of March, records show, compared with $14 million for the Democratic National Committee, which has struggled to raise money following the 2024 presidential election and had $18 million in debt for the same reporting period. GOP House and Senate committees have smaller advantages over Democratic counterparts.

Republicans are hopeful the Supreme Court rules favorably in a case seeking to eliminate restrictions on coordination between party committees and candidates. That would supercharge the GOP cash advantage because parties could then get the lowest possible advertising rates, which under current law are only available to candidates.

The GOP is focusing on Senate races in North Carolina, Maine, Michigan and Georgia, and 29 House races scattered across the country. The National Republican Congressional Committee rolled out a "MAGA Majority" program to boost first-time GOP candidates. Republican officials say they plan to lean on their playbook for turning out some of the same low-propensity voters who helped Trump win in 2024 by reaching them through nontraditional media. The NRCC's list is expected to expand with redistricting.

The White House plans to put Trump out on the campaign trail as many as 30 times before the election to rally his base, according to a person familiar with the plans. Trump tested a new message during a visit to the sprawling Villages retirement community in Florida, calling attention to a provision of the tax bill that provides an additional deduction for Social Security benefits. Older voters reliably show up in midterm elections, and Trump plans to make them a focal point, advisers said.

While Trump might be helpful with getting his base to the polls, he is being kept at arms length by some Republican candidates in moderate states and districts. Trump in turn is laying off some of his frequent Republican targets, including Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who is in a crucial race that could help decide control of the chamber.

Trump has also called for a rare midterm convention to call attention to the party and candidates as voting begins. It is expected to take place in Dallas in September, people involved in the effort said.

By then, voters will be inundated with political advertising. "This is not a kindler, gentler messaging coming up," said Newhouse. "It's going to be a knife fight through Election Day."

Write to Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com and Meridith McGraw at Meridith.McGraw@WSJ.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 15, 2026 21:00 ET (01:00 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.