(NewsNation) — The Democratic National Committee is looking to double down on its organizing push ahead of the 2026 midterms after the party’s resounding success in off-year races earlier this month.
The party saw wide success in statewide races in New Jersey and Virginia as well as local mayoral races and a critical proposition in California that is projected to add five Democratic Congressional Districts ahead of the midterms. It was a stark contrast to the devastating losses of the 2024 general election, which saw them lose control of the U.S. Senate and fail to secure control of the U.S. House or the White House.
The DNC attributes much of the success of this year to DNC Chair Ken Martin’s philosophy of year-round organizing instead of just focusing resources during election years.
“(The) historic blue wave was won by talking directly to voters about the stakes of the election and how Democrats are fighting to lower their costs and protect health care,” DNC Deputy Executive Director Libby Schneider told NewsNation. “We showed up earlier and more often, and we tried new tactics to bring back key constituencies like young voters.”
Ahead of this month’s election, the DNC says that it trained more than 17,000 volunteers who, in totality, knocked on 2.5 million doors, made more than 8.5 million phone calls and sent more than 17 million text messages.
In Virginia, the DNC contacted 67% more voters than in the last off-year election cycle in 2021. In New Jersey, the effort was even more pronounced with a 457% increase in attempted voter contacts compared to 2021. In both November gubernatorial races, the Democratic candidates won by double digits.
Republicans quickly pivot focus to affordability
Off-year elections after a presidential election are often seen as a bellwether of voter sentiment about the party in power, and Republican strategist Jeanette Hoffman said the headwinds from the rising costs were too much to overcome for the party this year.
“Republicans need to focus on affordability (in 2026). When exit polls show voters trusting Democrats more on affordability and the economy, Republicans have a big problem,” she told NewsNation. “When people are going to the grocery store and seeing bills increase, they’re going to vote to make a change based on what President Trump promised but didn’t deliver so far.”
Indeed, leaders within the GOP have begun hammering affordability as the key 2026 issue.
Just hours after Democrats swept the November election, Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said the two lessons Republicans need to learn were to focus on affordability and to cut out identity politics — both of which were hallmarks of New York’s democratic socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s campaign.
President Donald Trump has also pivoted his messaging to make up the ground he lost with voters on the issue and rebrand the GOP as the “party of affordability.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said “affordability is a lie when used by the Dems” and insisted that costs were “tumbling down” under his administration, “helped greatly by gasoline and ENERGY.”
“Thanksgiving costs are 25% lower this year than last, under Crooked Joe,” he added.
However, according to AAA, gas prices remain virtually unchanged from a year ago. And while the cost of a Thanksgiving basket at Walmart, which Trump mentioned in a Truth Social post, is lower, it’s offering fewer items. This year’s basket includes just 15 items versus 21 last year.
Last week, Trump also lowered tariffs on a bevy of goods, including coffee, cocoa and bananas, after costs rose due to tariffs he imposed earlier in the year.
Officials with the administration have told NewsNation that Trump will embark on a cross-country economic tour focused on affordability to emphasize what Republicans are doing to keep costs down.
The midterm elections will be a battle over which party can convince voters that they’re the ones to be trusted when it comes to addressing the cost of living.