One member of the Senate Republican Conference is now publicly fretting about his party's ability to connect to voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
NOTUS reported Friday that Republicans remain divided on how to sell their agenda to voters who will decide which party controls Congress this coming fall. The GOP's lone legislative victory of 2025 was the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," (OBBB) which President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans have since tried to rebrand as the "Working Families Tax Cut" with mixed results. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) insisted that "there’s so many things that are in that bill that you could talk about that nobody’s ever heard about."
According to Scalise, some of the lesser-known elements of the OBBB Republicans could tout on the campaign trail include the modernization of U.S. air traffic control systems and the stabilization of tax rates for the next decade. He also pointed to the conservative goal of increased "school choice" programs, in which money for public schools is allocated for alternative K-12 education, like charter schools and private school vouchers.
"Obviously, as we’re doing all these things, you got to go back home and talk about them," he said.
However, some Republicans are less optimistic about how the OBBB is gone over with the American public. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) told NOTUS that he believed rebranding the legislation was a political blunder, and its messaging was "mishandled, sort of from the beginning."
"It should have been framed in a way that communicated what we were trying to do, which is to prevent a massive tax increase to provide targeted tax relief in a way that will stimulate economic growth and increase wages and purchasing power for American families," the California Republican said.
Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) was more blunt, telling NOTUS that Democrats' string of lopsided electoral victories in November of 2025 didn't bode well for his party's chances in November. He maintained that he felt the GOP was winning the policy battle but losing on the messaging front.
"Republicans have done so much good and everything, but the messaging is not resonating with a lot of voters that we need it to resonate with," he said. "If you’re not concerned then you’re living in a cave."
Click here to read NOTUS' report in full.
