News about Republican Party

The November 3, 2026 midterm elections will decide whether Republicans keep control of Congress, with all 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships up for grabs. Republicans hold a 53–47 Senate advantage, and Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control. A Pew survey found only 30% of Americans approve of Trump's performance while 68% disapprove, and a Harris Poll found 61% believe the country is effectively in a recession. Competitive Senate races are emerging in Trump-won states including Alaska, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and Texas, where Democrat James Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton 50% to 47% in a University of Texas poll.

This opinion piece argues that Iowa Democrats opposing Amendment 1 want to raise income taxes. If approved on the 2026 general election ballot, the amendment would require a two-thirds vote of the Iowa Legislature to raise or create any income tax. The author notes that after reforms, Iowa's flat individual income tax is 3.8% and corporate rates range from 5.5% to 7.1%, down from a 12% top corporate rate a decade ago, and that sixteen states already require supermajorities for major tax increases. The author dismisses the claim that the measure would lead to sales tax hikes, saying most Republican legislators have long resisted such increases, though the 2008 sales tax change added a 1-cent SILO tax to the state rate without raising costs for taxpayers.