Senate Democrats want to make 2026 the affordability election
Affordability — especially around health care costs — has emerged as Democrats’ top issue as candidates barrel toward midterm elections this fall.
Senate Democrats face an uphill battle to recapture the chamber in November. But they hope an opening on affordability can help them pull off the upset.
Democratic polling shop Blue Rose Research found that 61 percent of voters — and 66 percent of voters who switched from Joe Biden in 2020 to Donald Trump in 2024 — say their life is less affordable than it was a year ago, according to a memo prepared for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee shared first with POLITICO. Just 9 percent of voters said their lives are more affordable than a year ago, the poll found.
Affordability — especially around health care costs — has emerged as Democrats’ top issue as candidates barrel toward midterm elections this fall. The DSCC is latching on to that messaging and is also rolling out a new website this morning targeting Republicans for their handling of now-expired Affordable Care Act subsidies.
“Americans are fed up with Republicans’ failure to lower costs, and Democrats are going on offense,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement to POLITICO. “Costs will be our number one focus this year as we will stand up for hardworking Americans and fight back against Republicans’ price-spiking policies.”
The website goes after battleground GOP Sens. Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), Jon Husted (Ohio) and John Cornyn (Texas), as well as candidates in Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire and North Carolina.
Democrats’ focus on affordability isn’t new, but they are bolstered by this and other polls that they argue shows their message is landing with voters — particularly after Trump and Republicans leveraged economic concerns to across-the-board victories in 2024.
The lengthy Blue Rose memo also takes stock of Democratic performances last year, arguing that the environment has shifted dramatically since that 2024 drubbing.
“Overall, Democratic gains were particularly strong in areas that had swung away from the party in 2024,” the memo says, “suggesting genuine persuasion of swing voters in addition to an enthusiastic, motivated base. Counties where Democrats lost ground between 2020 and 2024 showed the largest rebounds in 2025.”
Even with those performances last year, the Senate still favors Republicans, who are working to hold seats mostly in states President Donald Trump carried easily. And Trump and Republicans are increasingly focusing on affordability, an effort to neutralize Democrats’ attacks.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee dismissed the attacks from the left, accusing Democrats of causing inflation while touting Republicans’ economic policies.
“Inflation rose 20% under Joe Biden, and Senate Democrats responded by recklessly funneling taxpayer dollars to big insurance companies and Somali fraudsters instead of seniors and working families,” NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement. “Republicans have already put an end to that, secured the largest tax cuts in American history, the lowest gas prices in five years, and more relief is coming.”
The Blue Rose survey was conducted online from Dec. 8-9, surveying 6,265 likely voters nationwide. It had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1.1 percentage points, with a larger error margin for subgroups.
A version of this report first appeared in POLITICO Pro’s Morning Score. Want to receive the newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.