Republican leaders have acknowledged that Democrats taking control of the Senate is a real possibility amid nationwide dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party over the economy and handling of the Iran war.
Though the GOP seemed poised to keep a safe hold on the Senate earlier this year, several races have turned into toss-up match-ups. Democrats need to flip only four seats to get a Senate majority — and Republicans are concerned that they might pull it off.
“I worry about that, for sure,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told Keloland News in South Dakota. “I’m a realist and I just think you — I don’t ever try and sugarcoat things. I think it’s a competitive environment right now.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also acknowledged that losing the Senate could be a possibility. In a recent interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, Cruz said the midterm elections were “looking bumpy.”
He later sidestepped a question from Kudlow about whether he would run for president in 2028, saying his focus was on the midterms.
“If we lose the House and Senate, all the legislative progress we have grinds to a halt and it is two years of warfare against President Trump and his agenda,” Cruz said. He added that he was “on the road nonstop” fighting to hold both the Senate and the House.
Both Thune and Cruz believe the midterm elections will boil down to voter turnout. Across several news show appearances, Cruz has said anger at the Trump administration will propel Democrats to the polls this November.
“The big question is, do Republicans show up?” Cruz said in an appearance on The View.
Some of his colleagues expect a grim response to this question. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) told Politico that Republicans face an uphill battle in the county’s agricultural regions, where tariffs and rising prices for diesel and fertilizer have squeezed American farmers.
“He’s in serious trouble in farm country,” Cramer said. “He being Trump — and Trump is us. I’m not very optimistic.”