Republicans are getting rattled by a run of special-election losses and weak showings on GOP-friendly turf, according to a new report.
Amid the electoral defeats, the White House is planning to push President Donald Trump, 79, onto the campaign trail ahead of next year’s midterms.
But after Democrats just grabbed Miami’s mayor’s office and flipped a pro-Trump Georgia House seat, Republicans fear the president’s campaign blitz may not stop a midterm slide, The Hill reports.
The Hill quoted one former Trump White House staffer who bluntly summarized the mood. “Republicans losing in Republican areas?… I think that’s got people freaking out,” the staffer said, while another source close to the White House warned of “a five-alarm fire.”
On Tuesday, Democrat Eric Gisler declared victory in a special election for Georgia’s House District 121, a seat the GOP had held in a district Trump won by 12 points in 2024. It was a significant reversal in a pro-Trump district, with Republicans suddenly watching once-safe margins shrink.
The same night, Democrats also broke through in Miami’s mayoral contest, with Eileen Higgins defeating incumbent Emilio Gonzalez in an upset, the first win for a Democratic mayoral candidate in nearly three decades.
Those results followed a Dec. 2 special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, where Republican Matt Van Epps beat Democrat Aftyn Behn by about nine points—far tighter than the district’s 2024 baseline and seen as a warning sign for Republicans.
It all comes after a November drubbing, when Democrats swept the Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races, with Abigail Spanberger defeating Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill beating Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey.
The contests were seen as an early test of Trump’s second term—and a momentum jolt for Democrats heading into 2026.
The Hill reports that Republicans are struggling to counter Democrats’ simple “lower prices” pitch, even as Trump tries to reframe the debate on his own terms.
At a Tuesday night rally in northeastern Pennsylvania, Trump said, “I can’t say affordability hoax because I agree the prices are too high.” The tone-deaf billionaire also suggested that poor parents cut back on presents for their kids this Christmas.
New polling suggests voters are not buying the reset. The AP-NORC Center’s December survey put Trump’s approval on handling the economy at 31 percent, down from 40 percent in March.
A Politico–Public First survey found that nearly half of Americans say they struggle to afford groceries, utility bills, healthcare, housing, and transportation, with 55 percent blaming Trump.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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