Common Themes in the 2026 Midterms

Over the people of this election, we’ve monitored cardinal toss-up legislature races, fact-checking mendacious claims and distortions of the facts connected a big of topics. But immoderate issues person loomed larger than others.

Before the Election Day polls open, here’s a look astatine the large midterm themes we’ve written astir and however some parties person twisted the facts successful trying to garner voters’ support.

Inflation and Gas Prices

When ostentation and gasoline prices spiked successful the summertime of 2022, the midterm predetermination airwaves were filled with Republican run ads attacking Democrats connected those points, arsenic we wrote for our “major themes” communicative then. With annualized ostentation astatine 3.7% and gasoline prices astatine $4.27 per gallon the week of Oct. 26 — higher than the metrics erstwhile President Donald Trump’s 2nd word began — ostentation and gasoline prices are again a centerpiece of the midterm elections, with the enactment roles reversed.

Most of the Democratic ads blasted the warfare successful Iran and Republicans’ enactment for it, which is simply a substance for governmental debate, and not thing for fact-checkers.

But the attacks haven’t ever been connected the mark, arsenic was the case successful a North Carolina advertisement successful which Democratic Senate campaigner Roy Cooper utilized an out-of-date punctuation from his Republican opponent, Michael Whatley, to represent him arsenic retired of interaction connected affordability issues. The economical representation was overmuch antithetic successful July 2025 — erstwhile Whatley commented connected market prices, gasoline prices and ostentation — than they are today.

And portion helium isn’t connected the ballot (technically), Trump has repeatedly twisted the facts connected ostentation and gasoline prices portion stumping for Republican candidates successful the run-up to the midterm elections.

Transgender Issues

In races crossed the country, Republicans person distorted the facts successful claiming that their Democratic opponents enactment “sex changes” for children oregon payer backing of specified surgeries. Since Labor Day, $162 cardinal has been spent connected much than 260 ads containing the words “sex change,” according to our hunt of AdImpact’s ad-tracking database, with $91.5 cardinal spent successful national Senate races alone. (A fewer of those ads are Democrats defending themselves from specified attacks.)

In fact-checking ads making these claims successful 3 toss-up Senate races, we recovered respective ads that cited politicians’ votes against measures that went beyond prohibiting surgeries. 

For instance, ads successful Texas cited Democrat James Talarico’s 2023 ballot against authorities authorities that broadly prohibited gender-affirming attraction for kids — some medications, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, and surgeries. The measure stipulated that doctors could suffer their aesculapian licenses for violating the measure. Talarico, a authorities representative, voted against the bill, and has said it was “overly broad.” He voted for an amendment that would person restricted the measure to banning surgeries.

It’s worthy noting that gender-affirming surgeries typically instrumentality spot aft property 18, according to experts and studies connected the prevalence of gender-affirming care.

A 2025 report by the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law’s Williams Institute estimated that much than 2.8 cardinal radical successful the U.S. property 13 and older place arsenic transgender — meaning they place with a sex that doesn’t lucifer the enactment they were assigned astatine birth.

Epstein

More than 350 antithetic TV ads that notation Jeffrey Epstein person been aired since Labor Day, and they came from some sides of the governmental aisle, according to AdImpact. Numerous ads from Democratic-aligned groups claimed Republican candidates voted against releasing the Epstein files, portion candidates from some parties accused each different of taking donations from the precocious convicted enactment offender.

Ads successful Alaska, Kansas and Maine, for example, misleadingly claimed Republican Sens. Dan Sullivan, Roger Marshall and Susan Collins voted to screen up the Epstein files. They — and astir each Republican senators — voted successful September 2025 to array a Democratic amendment to the yearly defence fund bill. The amendment called for the Justice Department to merchandise the Epstein files. But arsenic we noted successful stories astir those ads, the Senate successful November 2025 passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act by unanimous consent, meaning, of course, that Sullivan, Marshall and Collins supported it.

The measure required the DOJ to merchandise each files related to its probe of Epstein.

Meanwhile, successful races astir the country, ads from some sides attempted to nexus opponents to Epstein done governmental donations made by alleged Epstein associates — radical who were either listed successful Epstein’s interaction database oregon are referenced successful Epstein emails that person been publically released. But arsenic we pointed retired successful several stories, the associates were not charged with crimes, and most had tangential associations to Epstein.

Tax Cuts connected Tips, Overtime and Seniors

In hundreds of ads astir the country, Republican candidates and the PACs supporting them touted taxation cuts for tips, overtime and older Americans that were portion of Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Many different ads attacked Democrats who voted against oregon opposed the OBBBA, claiming they were against those fashionable taxation cuts.

It’s existent that not a azygous Democrat successful either the House oregon Senate voted successful favour of the OBBBA, which was signed into instrumentality by Trump connected July 4, 2025. And the instrumentality did chopped — though didn’t wholly eliminate — taxes connected tips, overtime wage and Social Security done 2028.

But galore of the candidates facing these attacks accidental they voted against the OBBBA for different reasons — chiefly that wide taxation cuts were skewed to the wealthy, and that the authorities chopped backing to Medicaid and reduced spending connected national nutrient benefits. Many Democrats accidental they aren’t opposed to the bill’s taxation cuts for tips, overtime and older Americans. Some person adjacent said they would enactment to marque them permanent.

Data Centers

A uncommon country of bipartisan statement among voters is absorption to information centers. But information centers don’t needfully pb to higher energy prices, arsenic galore ads accidental and galore voters whitethorn think.

We explored the contented in-depth, with experts telling america determination were aggregate factors determining whether a information halfway would rise section electrical bills.

“Data centers tin enactment either upward oregon downward unit connected energy prices,” Jacquelyn Pless, an vigor economist astatine the University of Toronto, told us. “It depends connected however overmuch it costs to service the caller demand, whether utilities tin usage existing infrastructure much efficiently, and who yet pays for immoderate required investments.”

We recovered that tens of millions of dollars person been spent connected midterm ads addressing information centers and energy prices, with important spending successful Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania and Michigan, according to AdImpact. In general, experts told america that information centers person contributed to higher prices successful Ohio and different Midwestern states, though the facilities aren’t the lone crushed for much costly electricity. In Texas, the contented is little clear. Price increases person been humble successful the state, which has implemented low-cost upwind and star powerfulness that tin stave disconnected a ample terms hike.

Medicare and Social Security

It’s fundamentally guaranteed successful national elections: There volition beryllium claims that politicians privation to cut, endanger oregon instrumentality distant Medicare and Social Security. The 2026 predetermination rhythm was nary exception.

We saw Democratic ads successful Wisconsin, Ohio and New York races for the U.S. House that accused Republican candidates of “gutting Medicare,” voting for “huge cuts to Medicare” and “cheering connected Trump’s onslaught connected Medicare” — exaggerated and misleading claims related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Republican home argumentation instrumentality made immoderate changes to Medicare, but they are constrictive and impact comparatively fewer beneficiaries.

Some ads besides could person been referring to automatic cuts a 2010 instrumentality could person triggered indirectly nether pay-as-you-go rules. But arsenic Congress has regularly done, it subsequently waived those cuts. A blimpish advertisement attacking Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas successful the New Hampshire Senate contention utilized the PAYGO contented to marque a convoluted and misleading assertion astir Pappas voting to “cut Medicare” by hundreds of billions of dollars.  

On Social Security, we fact-checked ads from some parties that misrepresented what candidates had said oregon projected regarding status benefits.

Rural Healthcare

The destiny of agrarian hospitals featured successful ads from some sides of the aisle this year. Most of them centered connected Trump’s signature home argumentation law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

Ads from Republican extracurricular groups touted the law’s $50 cardinal agrarian healthcare money and heaped praise connected GOP senators and representatives who voted for it, saying they “secured millions for our agrarian hospitals” oregon passed “the biggest concern ever successful agrarian healthcare.” Other ads attacked Democrats for opposing the bill, claiming they “voted to gut agrarian hospitals” oregon opposed “vital funding” for them. 

What those ads near out: The law’s cuts to Medicaid are expected to effect successful agrarian areas getting overmuch little healthcare backing overall. The nonpartisan wellness argumentation probe enactment KFF estimates the instrumentality volition trim national Medicaid backing for agrarian areas by $137 cardinal implicit 10 years. The cuts to Medicaid, and the imaginable interaction connected the healthcare system, were a large crushed Democrats opposed the law.

Groups backing Democrats, meanwhile, ran ads successful respective cardinal races citing circumstantial numbers of agrarian hospitals that could adjacent owed to the law’s cuts. But experts told america that portion the instrumentality is apt to interaction galore hospitals’ finances, it’s intolerable to foretell however galore mightiness adjacent arsenic a result. 

Communism

In a code astatine the archetypal Republican midterm convention, held successful September, Trump repeatedly invoked a fearfulness of “communism” arsenic a crushed not to elite Democrats. The president said that if Democrats power Congress, it would beryllium tally by “crazed” antiauthoritarian socialists, who helium said are truly “communists.” Trump has repeatedly referred to “Democrat communists” successful midterm rallies since then.

But antiauthoritarian socialists — who marque up a tiny number of legislature candidates — are not the aforesaid arsenic communists.

Matthew McManus, an adjunct prof of governmental subject astatine Spelman College, told us that it was a “very long-standing trope” for conservatives to notation to antiauthoritarian socialists arsenic communists. “Conservative sermon intentionally, successful galore cases, obscures the distinctions betwixt liberals, societal democrats, antiauthoritarian socialists, communists, by trying to conflate them each unneurotic and suggest that they’re each portion and parcel of the aforesaid thing,” helium said.

There are fewer antiauthoritarian socialists already successful Congress — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are 2 well-known Democratic Socialists of America members. The DSA has endorsed lone 7 legislature candidates, each for the House.

As for communists, a co-chair of the Communist Party USA told PolitiFact this summertime that determination are nary communists successful Congress and that helium knows of nary moving for the House oregon Senate.

Immigration and Crime

In respective cardinal races, Republican-backed ads accused Democratic candidates of supporting brushed borderline policies that led to an summation successful crime.

In Ohio, a Republican advertisement blamed erstwhile Sen. Sherrod Brown for a deadly clang successful April connected an Ohio interstate successful which an migrant was charged with vehicular homicide. But there’s nary grounds of immoderate necktie betwixt Brown’s votes connected immigration, arsenic the advertisement suggests, and the fishy successful this incident.

And successful Alaska, an ad from Sullivan featured a parent whose 22-year-old lad died from fentanyl and who claimed Democratic Senate campaigner Mary Peltola took contributions from “liberals [who] opened our borders to the cause cartels” and past “voted with them against securing our border.” But Peltola was among a fistful of Democrats who joined Republicans successful enactment of an unsuccessful measure that sought a instrumentality to galore of the hardline borderline policies enacted by Trump during his archetypal term. And Peltola often bucked her enactment erstwhile voting connected migration bills.

Also, portion these claims interest transgression but not immigration, Cooper successful North Carolina faced false and misleading attacks related to a COVID-19 pandemic early-release programme to trim the situation population.

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The station Common Themes successful the 2026 Midterms appeared archetypal connected FactCheck.org.