Economic gloom threatens Republican midterm control of Congress

On Oct. 9, 2026, Americans faced growing economic concerns as consumer sentiment weakened ahead of the midterm elections, where voters will decide whether Republicans keep control of Congress. Surveys from the University of Michigan and Pew Research Center showed broad worries over prices and economic conditions.

The University of Michigan said October consumer sentiment was on pace for a 13.6% yearly decline. Pew Research Center found 42% of Americans rated national economic conditions as poor, while 21% rated them excellent or good.

Pew Research Center reported that 65% of Americans believe President Trump’s policies have made the economy worse. Republican approval of those policies also declined, with 36% now rating economic conditions positively compared with 49% in January.

Todd Belt, a professor of political management at George Washington University, said economic policy changes before the election would not quickly affect voters.

"We're less than four weeks away from the election, and you can't do any sort of economic policy that's going to work that quickly. It just doesn't happen that way." said Todd Belt, a professor of political management at George Washington University.

Belt said economic concerns are expected to be a major factor for voters in the upcoming election. Pew Research Center found the economy ranked as the top issue among voters, ahead of democracy, education, immigration, foreign policy and crime.

"Always are, and this year it will be even more so," said Todd Belt, a professor of political management at George Washington University.

Pew Research Center also reported President Trump’s approval rating at a second-term low of 30%. The survey showed Democratic voters were more motivated than Republican voters heading into the midterms.

"I think it's really instructive that we're really seeing a decline among Republicans, as well, on their attitudes about the economy. ... It's not just the independents. It's not just Democrats being Democrats because there's a Republican in office. This is something that's affecting everybody, and they're really concerned about it." said Todd Belt, a professor of political management at George Washington University.

White House Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett challenged the negative consumer sentiment findings, pointing to spending activity as evidence of optimism.

"Well, it's true that the polls, which have gotten the president's success wrong every time, have been saying that people are looking a little bit depressed about the economy. But if you look at their actions, the actions speak way louder than words." said Kevin Hassett, White House Economic Adviser.

Hassett said consumer spending remained strong, while Mastercard projected holiday spending growth of 5.5%. Belt said continued spending does not necessarily mean Americans are satisfied with economic conditions.

Joanne Hsu, director and chief economist of the University of Michigan consumer survey, said sentiment had fallen because of concerns about higher gas prices and broader cost pressures.

Ted Rossman, principal consumer finance analyst at Money Management International, said the public mood differs from some economic indicators, including jobs and spending data.

"The mood continues to be very gloomy. As you know, a lot of the actual economic data – the harder numbers on jobs and spending and GDP growth and all that – those have been more positive. So, it does beg the question of what's going on.

Some of it is that the relationship between sentiment and hard data has weakened. It used to be that sentiment was a predictor of the future, and if people were feeling bad about the economy, pretty soon they would start pulling back on spending. People have been warning about that for years, and it just hasn't happened." said Ted Rossman, principal consumer finance analyst at Money Management International.