Nearly two weeks after Republicans suffered stinging defeats in key state elections across Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the party’s leadership is digging in, insisting there’s no problem with their policies, their messaging, or President Donald Trump’s stewardship. Instead of recalibrating after the November 4, 2025 setbacks, Republican officials are doubling down on their alignment with Trump, urging candidates to champion his record and tout what they describe as a thriving economy—despite mounting evidence that many voters feel otherwise.
This remarkable unity was on full display in recent days as party strategists, White House aides, and the Republican National Committee (RNC) gathered for private briefings and circulated official talking points. According to The Associated Press, the consensus among top GOP decision-makers is clear: the party is “fully aligned behind [Trump’s] America First agenda and the results he’s delivering for the American people,” as RNC spokesperson Kiersten Pels put it. She added, “Republicans are entering next year more unified behind President Trump than ever before.”
That sense of unity, however, masks a growing disconnect between party leaders and the voters they hope to win back in the 2026 midterms. Economic worries—especially about inflation and the rising cost of living—dominated the concerns of voters in this month’s elections, according to an AP Voter Poll. Yet Trump and his allies continue to insist that the economy is strong and consumer prices are falling, dismissing warnings from both within and outside the party that ignoring these anxieties could prove costly.
Trump himself has been front and center in this messaging blitz. On November 15, 2025, he slashed tariffs on beef and other commodities, a move he framed as a direct response to affordability concerns. Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One in Florida on November 16, he declared, “We have a great economy and the prices are coming down.” He placed blame for past inflation squarely on Democrats, saying they presided over “the highest inflation in the history of our country. I have it down now to a normal level and it’s going down further.”
In a social media post, Trump went even further, proclaiming, “We are the Party of Affordability!” and claiming that the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner would be down 25% this year. But as AP and Newslooks report, that figure doesn’t match reality: grocery prices are actually 2.7% higher than they were in 2024. This contradiction hasn’t gone unnoticed by voters or by some Republican strategists, who warn that the party risks appearing out of touch.
Doug Heye, a veteran Republican strategist, cautioned that Trump’s approach may not be helpful for the party’s candidates, who already face a challenging environment in 2026. “Republicans need to relay to voters that they understand what they’re going through and that they’re trying to fix it,” Heye told AP. “That can be hard to do when the president takes a nonmetaphorical wrecking ball to portions of the White House, which distract so much of Washington and the media.” He added, “Candidates cannot afford to be distracted. As we saw in the recent elections, especially in Virginia, if you’re not talking about what voters are talking about, they will tune you out.”
On the ground, some Republicans are picking up on these signals. New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a House Republican leader who launched a campaign for governor earlier this month, has made affordability the centerpiece of her campaign. “Certainly I support women and girls sports and protecting them, but as you see in all of our messaging, we’re focused on the top issues, which every conversation with voters is about the high taxes and spending, the unaffordability,” Stefanik told AP. She declined to criticize Trump’s major policies or his leadership, but she did shift the focus to New York’s Democratic governor, saying, “My sense is our party is fully united behind firing Kathy Hochul.”
Stefanik also sidestepped questions about whether she would support Trump’s hypothetical threat to send National Guard troops into New York City, stating, “It wouldn’t need to happen if there was a Republican governor.” Her stance highlights the delicate balancing act facing many GOP candidates: how to remain loyal to Trump while also addressing the bread-and-butter concerns of their constituents.
Despite the recent electoral setbacks, the RNC has been quick to downplay the losses and reinforce the party’s commitment to Trump’s agenda. Internal talking points circulated by the committee after the November 4 elections dismissed the defeats as a result of Democratic voter advantages in those states, rather than any shortcomings in Republican policy or leadership. The memo, obtained by AP and echoed in conservative media, also overstated Trump’s popularity, claiming he is more popular than former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush were at similar points in their terms.
The data tells a more nuanced story. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in November 2025 found Trump’s approval rating at 36%, which is slightly higher than at this point in his first term. However, both Obama and Bush had approval ratings in the low 40s at the same point in their presidencies, according to Gallup polling. Both also suffered major losses in their final midterm elections, a historical pattern that looms over the GOP as they look ahead to 2026.
The RNC’s official messaging, however, urges candidates to stay the course. “These elections were not a referendum on President Trump, Republicans in Congress, or the MAGA Agenda,” the talking points state. “To win in 2026, Make America Great Again voters will need to show up at the ballot box; President Trump and Republicans are going to make that happen.”
Still, not every Republican is convinced that unwavering loyalty to Trump is the right path. Some warn that failing to address voters' real-life struggles with inflation and affordability could erode support. The party’s challenge, as the 2026 midterms approach, will be to navigate the tension between projecting unity behind Trump and responding to the economic anxieties dominating voter sentiment.
For now, the GOP’s bet is clear: stick with Trump, amplify his economic message, and hope that voters will come around. Whether that gamble pays off—or backfires—will be revealed as the next election cycle unfolds.
