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The economy, the issue that hurt Democrats in the 2024 elections, gave them a major boost in this year’s ballot box showdowns.
“Look, we know what’s important right now,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said in his speech at the DNC’s winter meeting earlier this month. “S‑‑‑ is too expensive.”
One year after deep concerns over inflation helped President Donald Trump and Republicans win back the White House and Senate and keep their House majority, Democrats say their decisive victories in last month’s 2025 elections, and their overperformances in special elections and other ballot box showdowns this year were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation.
Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Meghan Meehan-Draper said Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, who overperformed the public opinion polls as they cruised to double-digit Election Night victories in the blue-leaning states, “stayed laser focused on the economy,” and “talked about it all day, every day.”
DOUBLING DOWN: TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS FOCUS ON AFFORDABILITY ‘ABSOLUTELY GOING TO CONTINUE’
Then-Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in New Jersey, celebrates her victory during an election night event in East Brunswick, N.J. on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The issue also fueled one-time longshot far-left candidate Zohran Mamdani to a mayoral victory in New York City as he made cost of living the centerpiece of his campaign.
Democrats say they’ll double down on the issue of affordability heading into next year’s midterm elections, as they try to win back congressional majorities from the Republicans.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chair says Democrats will keep their focus squarely on affordability as they aim to “take back those gavels” by capturing the House majority in next year’s midterm elections.
ELECTION REFLECTION: DEMOCRATS ‘FLIPPED THE SCRIPT’ ON AFFORDABILITY
House Democrats need to flip just three GOP-held seats in 2026 to win back control of the chamber for the first time in four years.
“We’re going to hold Republicans accountable for their policies that are hurting American families,” Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington state, who for a second straight election cycle is chairing the DCCC, told Fox News Digital.
DelBene said she’ll keep her focus squarely on affordability as she aims to “take back those gavels.”
Pointing to last year’s elections, she said, “That was their [Republicans] big message. They were going to lower costs. It has been a big broken promise, and people are feeling that, and that’s had a big impact and will continue. People want folks who are going to stand up to them for them, not just be blindly loyal to the president.”
But GOP Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chair of the rival National Republican Congressional Committee, highlighted the Republican narrative, as he took aim at former President Joe Biden, telling Fox News Digital, “There are challenges out there with the economy, because Biden broke it, and House Republicans, working with President Trump, are going to fix it, and we’re working very hard to do that. “
CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL ON TRUMP AND THE ECONOMY
It’s an argument that Trump has repeatedly voiced in recent weeks, as he’s pointed fingers at his predecessor for the persistent high costs.
“When I took office last January, I inherited a mess, and very simply, I’m fixing it,” Trump said this month.
But a recent Fox News national poll was full of apparent warning signs for Trump and the GOP.
Three-quarters of voters questioned in the survey viewed the economy negatively, and large numbers of respondents, including Republicans, said their costs for groceries, utilities, healthcare and housing have gone up this year.
The poll indicated that voters blame the president, with nearly twice as many pointing fingers at Trump than former President Joe Biden, when asked who is responsible for the current economy.
And Trump’s approval rating when it comes to the economy has dropped to record lows in surveys by Fox News and other organizations.
While Trump has repeatedly described the Democrats’ focus on affordability as a “hoax,” he has also become more engaged in combating high prices in recent weeks, as the president has scaled back some of his tariffs and pledged to lower high food prices. And Trump this month made stops in two key battlegrounds — Pennsylvania and North Carolina — to tout his efforts to combat high prices.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on inflation at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Trump was buoyed this past week by better than expected government reports on inflation and economic growth, and Republicans see better days ahead when it comes to the issue of affordability.
Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, the Trump-backed Republican Senate candidate in next year’s race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, told Fox News Digital “we’re seeing signs already that the economy is starting to tick up and is starting to take hold as the President’s policies are getting in place.”
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Fox News Digital, “2026 is a year of affordability, and the great news is President Trump has been producing time and time again.”
Pointing to the tax cut provisions in the GOP’s sweeping domestic policy measure signed into law this past summer by Trump, Scott said “2026 is shaping up to be the year where Donald Trump’s activities, his actions, the legislation we’ve passed, shows up for the American voter. And consumers all across the country will see a more affordable economy because of President Trump and the Senate majority and the House majority in the hands of the Republican Party.”
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But Martin and the Democrats see it differently.
The DNC chair accuses Republicans of not inheriting a “mess — they manufactured it. They took the economy and drove it straight into a ditch. They took certainty and swapped it for chaos.”
And Martin predicts Trump and Republicans headed for a ballot box disaster.
“Donald Trump has lost the economy, is losing his mind, and is going to lose the midterms,” Martin charged.
