The 2026 midterms are kicking into gear and Republicans are eager for President Donald Trump's super PAC to start spending its $300 million war chest to help save the GOP from an anticipated defeat.
Axios reported on Wednesday that the PAC intends to start spending while his popularity continues to fall off of the political cliff. "His operation has one of the biggest political bank accounts in history," the report explained. Democrats, however, have momentum and rage on their side.
Trump celebrated his "win" in Georgia on Tuesday, where a Republican candidate won Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) seat by 12 points. The problem for the GOP, however, is that Trump won the seat in 2024 by 37 points. It shows a significant over-performance by Democrats in the reddest of red districts around the country.
Trump's personal account takes the $300 million in the PAC to half a billion dollars. So, Republicans are hoping that they can buy their way to victory.
Unlike previous elections, Trump doesn't need to spend the money on his own campaign. So, Republicans are hoping that Trump's desperation to "prevent a Democratic takeover of the House," will inspire him to spend all of the cash. Trump has said publicly that if Democrats take over, it will be nothing but impeachments. Trump is already the only president in history to have been impeached twice.
Democrats don't seem to be able to raise the money and are being out-raised by a 7 to 1 margin.
While Trump's political advisers Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio say that they have been designing a data program to find hard-to-reach voters, there is a fear that the president's moods can flip on a dime. He is "notoriously protective of his money, and takes great interest in how it's spent."
It's entirely possible that Trump will decide to shift all of his money to his presidential library, his non-profi, or other projects, like his giant arch or the ballroom project. Trump could slow the spending and wait until the last minute to use it.
Axios reported that in the 2022 midterms, "Trump amassed piles of cash but ended up using little of it — and withheld much of his spending until late in the campaign." Republicans think that if he had spent more, they could have held off Democrats.
Other Republicans think that all the money in the world can't save the GOP now. "What really matters now is whether candidates can connect with voters in a visceral way," the party thinks, according to Axios.
A good example is New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who destroyed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.). The ousted governor outspent Mamdani by a 3 to 1 margin.
Far-right activist and host Steve Bannon commented, "Money has lost its edge." He said that the real difference is made with "authenticity, urgency, energy [and] grassroots commitment."
Trump adviser Taylor Budowich announced that he'd be spending $100 million to support Trump's AI agenda and the candidates that stand with him. But the AI issue isn't a popular one either. A Republican suburb outside of Milwaukee became the first in the country to block a data center project backed by Trump in Tuesday's election.
A March poll by NBC News showed that only 26 percent reported a positive feeling about AI, while 27 percent were neutral. All others are against it.
