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    "parsed_content": "Who\u2019s winning the race for Congress? The election is in 36 days. \n \n Supported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTWho\u2019s Winning the Race for Congress?It\u2019s Sept. 28 \u2014 36 days away from the midterms. Here\u2019s the state of play.Listen \u00b7 8:30 min Share full articleBy Jess Bidgood and Shane GoldmacherSept. 28, 2026Updated 1:58 p.m. ETFive weeks out from the midterms, Republicans are panicking over prices \u2014 and apparently over the president, too.In Iowa, Michigan and Ohio, the party\u2019s Senate candidates have urged President Trump to bring an end to the Iran war. In Kansas, an incumbent senator in an unexpectedly tough re-election fight has admonished the administration over immigration raids. Just about every Republican wishes Mr. Trump would just focus on the economy.Instead, he spent last week threatening to escalate the war \u2014 a move that could further drive up the prices of gas and diesel fuel. He wined and dined President Xi Jinping at the White House and heaped praise on Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York, complicating his party\u2019s efforts to take a hard line on China abroad and to vilify democratic socialists at home.Republicans hoping for an October turnaround see promise in one area: money. For all the problems Trump might be causing his party, campaign cash isn\u2019t one. New filings show that the leading Republican super PACs are significantly outspending Democratic groups \u2014 a gap powered in large part by Trump\u2019s political operation.So if the issues are pummeling Republicans, the spending is pounding Democrats. And nobody\u2019s resting easy.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe Battle for the Senate\n \n \n \n \nMaineMich.AlaskaOhioN.H.Ga.N.C.S.C.IowaTexasNeb.Minn.KansasMaineMichigan AlaskaTexasIowaMinnesotaNebraskaKansasOhioNew HampshireGeorgiaNorth\nCarolinaSouth\nCarolina 3 favor D Dem. 7 Tossups 3 favor R Rep. 9 other races and 34 not up for re-election 50 seats 13 other races and 31 not up for re-election Who\u2019s Winning the Race for Congress? 2026 Midterm Elections - The New York Times\n \n Data is as of Sept. 25, 2026.Source: The Cook Political Report Senate race ratingsThe state of the Senate map was the talk of the donors and operatives who decamped over the weekend to tony Sea Island, Ga. There, at a retreat hosted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, attendees focused on how much work the party has to do.Republicans are reeling in Midwestern states such as Iowa, Michigan and Ohio, where Mr. Trump is set to hold a rally this week. The N.R.S.C. last week told donors in a private memo that it needs $7.7 million to shore up the party\u2019s nominees in Iowa and Ohio; the group wants another $1.2 million for Alaska, too.Republicans\u2019 troubles don\u2019t end there. A group with ties to the party\u2019s main Senate super PAC has plowed nearly $10 million into the Nebraska Senate race. A key Democratic group, meanwhile, is preparing to conduct new polling in Kansas, according to a spokeswoman for the group. The poll by Senate Majority PAC could be a precursor to new spending on the tighter-than-expected race.The biggest single drain on Republican resources, though, is Texas. The main Republican Senate super PAC, Senate Leadership Fund, has already reserved $125 million worth of advertising in the race, and Mr. Trump\u2019s super PAC has poured in another $20 million. But even that gargantuan sum is most likely only a down payment. A person familiar with the internal discussions said the full total could easily reach $200 million.Inside the Air WarsNo surprise: Republicans are set to spend more on TV ads this week in the Senate than Democrats. But there are surprising details about exactly where they are putting their cash.The party has $51.9 million booked in Texas and Ohio \u2014 compared with $10.2 million for Democrats in those states \u2014 on TV and radio, according to AdImpact.Democrats have reserved more than Republicans for the upcoming week in two Southern Senate races in states that Trump won in 2024: Georgia and North Carolina. Republicans claim they are not abandoning ship there yet, but the numbers reveal the diminished relevance of the two states. Republicans have $3.1 million and $3.7 million reserved in those states, respectively, as of Sunday \u2014 less than in Alaska, a state that is only a small fraction of the size.Sign up for the On Politics newsletter. It's a pivotal moment for American politics. Join us for 2026 and beyond. Get it sent to your inbox.Democrats are planning to spend nearly $6 million in North Carolina this week, and $4.2 million in Georgia.One note: Ad buys are fluid, and campaigns can and do add money for new ads day by day. The Race for the House\n \n \n \n \nWash.Calif.Nev.Ariz.N.M.TexasNeb.IowaWis.Mich.N.Y.Pa.OhioN.C.Va.N.J.Fla.Colo.Mont.WashingtonCaliforniaNevadaArizonaNew MexicoTexasNebraskaMontanaIowaWisconsinMichiganNew YorkPennsylvaniaOhioNorth\nCarolinaVirginiaNew\nJerseyFloridaColorado 11 lean D Dem. 22 Tossups 10 lean R Rep. 197 solidly or likely Dem. 218 districtsfor control 195 solidly or likely Rep. \n \n Data is as of Sept. 25, 2026.Source: The Cook Political Report House race ratings.The map just keeps getting bigger and better for Democrats.Over the last week, The Cook Political Report shifted 15 races toward Democrats, creating three new \u201ctossup\u201d districts in conservative swaths of North Carolina, Texas and Florida. It made another 10 red districts a little less red.One notable development: Cook moved a Republican incumbent running for re-election in a seat not redrawn by redistricting to the lean Democratic column for the first time. It is Representative Thomas Kean Jr. of New Jersey, who was absent from the House for months this year, which he said was because of depression.Top TalkerTrump is increasingly leaning on taxpayer funds to boost his image ahead of the midterm elections.This weekend, a black-and-white video created during his 2024 presidential run began airing on televisions. Except that this time, the video had a new disclaimer: \u201cPaid for by the U.S. Government.\u201dCritics say the president is violating laws against using public funds for propaganda. The White House is calling the ads \u201cpublic service announcements.\u201dAt least three such ads have run so far.The ads have received some bipartisan criticism.\u201cI don\u2019t think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on \u2014 on private ads for themselves,\u201d Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, said Sunday on CBS News\u2019s \u201cFace the Nation.\u201dThe MoneyTrump\u2019s MAGA Inc. super PAC is spending in deeply Republican territory in an apparent effort to hold down the size of a Democratic wave.The group is investing in two districts in Texas \u2014 the Ninth and the 15th Districts \u2014 which Trump would have won by nearly 20 points, if they had existed in their current shape in 2024.This strategy isn\u2019t limited to Texas. Trump\u2019s group has spent nearly $2 million on the open seat in the 11th District in North Carolina, which the president won by 9.5 percentage points in 2024. Democrats, hungry for a pickup, are also spending big there.One Key MetricThe average price for a gallon of gas as of Sunday: $4.48, per AAA. That\u2019s almost 40 cents more per gallon than a month ago.One Poll Number66 percent.That\u2019s the percentage of voters who disapprove of Trump\u2019s handling of the war in Iran, according to the NYT\/Siena poll released last week \u2014 a figure that has alarmed Republicans.On the GroundTwo defining political issues of 2026 collided last week when federal immigration raids hit cattle country. Industry associations in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas warned that the immigration enforcement could cause beef prices to jump higher than they already are \u2014 and that it could create new problems for cattle farmers who are already struggling with drought, pests and tariffs.\u201cWe need some help, and these ICE raids do not help,\u201d said Sid Miller, the Texas agriculture commissioner and a Republican.Quote of the Week\u201cI was trying to warn people that if they actually wanted to hold the seat, that I would be a safer bet.\u201dSenator John Cornyn of Texas speaking to Punchbowl News, essentially saying: Told you so. Cornyn lost his primary to Ken Paxton after Trump threw his weight behind the Texas attorney general; now he\u2019s watching his party spend nine figures to help Paxton keep a seat that Cornyn handily won four times.Worth a Thousand WordsImagePresident Trump entertained President Xi Jinping of China at the White House, at a glitzy State Dinner that was also attended by tech titans like Elon Musk.Credit...Doug Mills\/The New York TimesProduced by Leo Dominguez, Lazaro Gamio, Rumsey Taylor and Ashley Wu.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-09-28T09:03:59+00:00",
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    "ai_simplified_title": "Republicans Panic Over Prices and Trump Ahead of Midterms",
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