‘We need to stop the contagion’: GOP ramps up midterms defense in Trump states

‘We need to stop the contagion’: GOP ramps up midterms defense in Trump states - POLITICO

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‘We need to stop the contagion’: GOP ramps up midterms defense in Trump states

Senior Republicans say the Midwest is a growing problem as they race to keep control of the House and Senate.

!Sen. Jon Husted speaks with reporters.

*Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) speaks with reporters as he arrives for a vote at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 17, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO*

By Meredith Lee Hill, Erin Doherty, Jessica Piper and Andrew Howard

09/22/2026 05:00 AM EDT

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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

“We need to stop the contagion,” said one senior GOP official, who, like others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the midterm landscape.

“The map is hilariously big right now,” said one national Republican pollster.

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 POLITICO analysis of data from AdImpact, which tracks political advertising.

That includes nearly $18 million to embattled Rep. Max Miller in Ohio’s 7th District; $14.6 million to Texas’ 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.