According to numerous reports, Republicans are alarmed by the upcoming midterm elections. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said on a podcast Wednesday that his home state was “very close,” adding, “We could lose Texas. Let me repeat that: We could lose Texas. Not just the Senate race, by the way. We could lose every statewide race in Texas. That’s how close these numbers are.”
According to Politico, House Republicans are not quietly discussing whether they will lose their majority, but are counting how many seats. “This could be a pretty brutal night,” one senior Republican told the outlet. According to the New York Times, the mood at the White House is “grim,” with advisers close to the White House predicting a loss of at least the House, if not the Senate.
That seems to be why Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has poured nearly $1 billion into the campaign, much of it into his own America PAC. PAC spending was concentrated in Texas, at about $48 million, followed by Michigan and Ohio, at about $9 million, and Iowa at $4 million. According to CNN, Musk’s continued spending “makes him the single, largest public donor in modern American politics and one of the largest donors ever to the Republican Party.”
But some are already looking beyond next Tuesday to see how President Donald Trump might react, beyond just challenging the results, which is more than expected and arguably already trying. But the president’s legal options are limited, so even if he does try to seize voting machines, declare a national emergency or otherwise involve the federal government in the electoral process, it’s likely to fail. Jonathan Diaz, director of voting advocacy and partnerships at the Campaign Legal Center, told Forbes that the president “can certainly try” to intervene, but “there’s not really much he can do.”
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Still, most analysts expect the president to intensify efforts in twin wars, the trade war with U.S. partners and the war with Iran that Trump launched in late February 2026 with Israel. The Pentagon is slowly increasing its military presence in the Middle East, including developing plans to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, energy infrastructure and stockpiles of missiles and drones.
Andrew Gawthorpe, a senior fellow at the Foreign Police Center, told The Independent: “Democrats in Congress may have a difficult time stopping Trump from taking a course of action he has firmly committed to, but they may still increase the political costs associated with moving forward.” “Faced with a hostile Congress, Trump may become more willing to ignore domestic opposition and pursue unpopular policies, such as his attacks on Iran or threats.”
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About the midterm elections