GOP senators sound alarm on 'disastrous' midterms as 'mass fear and hysteria' imperil party

Months before U.S. President Donald Trump ordered military strikes against Iran, his weak approval ratings and a series of Democratic election victories were ominous signs for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms. But with the United States now at war with Iran and oil prices soaring, some Republicans are growing even more worried about the midterms — including U.S. senators.

The Hill's Alexander Bolton, in an article published on March 12, reports, "Republican senators are getting louder in warning President Trump that economic headwinds caused by the administration's tariff regime, combined with the sharp reduction in global oil supplies, could set the GOP up for a rude political awakening in November. Soft jobs numbers and higher-than-desired inflation have been a persistent problem during Trump's second term, but the double whammy of a full-scale military conflict with Iran and fresh uncertainty about Trump's ability to reach trade deals after the Supreme Court struck down a key element of his tariff authority has created new economic risks, GOP lawmakers warn."

One of the GOP senators who is sounding the alarm about the midterms is Kentucky libertarian/conservative Rand Paul, an outspoken critic of Trump's Iran policy.

Paul warned that Republicans could be facing a "disastrous election" in November if oil prices don't come down and voters are frustrated about the economy.

"The closer we get to the election, if oil prices are $100 a barrel in September or October," Paul told The Hill, "I think you'll see mass fear and hysteria break out on the Republican side…. There's a difficult realization that inflation doesn't go away. You had four years of (President Joe) Biden when prices went up about 20 percent. They don't reverse themselves, we're adding them to them at a lower rate. Unless your salary went up 25 percent in the last five years, you're worse off than you were five years ago. I think the president is starting to sense that."

Paul added, "The less talk we have of unconditional surrender and 'We’re going to pick the next ayatollah' — the more realism that's injected into this — the better. For the Republican Party and just for politics, the sooner the war ends, the better for us."

According to Paul, "Democrats are very, very motivated, turning out in big numbers. Republican voters are a lot less motivated, and there's a lot of work to be done."

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is speaking out as well.

Warning that Maine voters are frustrated over rising gas prices, Collins told The Hill, "They are not happy, obviously. Many rural Mainers have to go long distances to get to work. We're a very rural state."

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) told The Hill, "It's hard to predict where it might fall, but.… the economy generally and the cost of business and any difficulties in agriculture are not good signs for Republicans."

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