In the closing weeks of 2025, President Donald Trump gave a prime-time speech on affordability and launched a swing-state rally tour that his advisers said would show voters his focus on domestic concerns - a messaging push intended to ramp up at the start of the year.

“2026 will be the year that defines Trump's legacy. While his name won't be on the ballot in the Midterms, his actions will set the tone for campaigns across the country at state, and most notably, congressional level,” Mark Shanahan, a U.S. political expert from the University of Surrey, in England, told Newsweek .

The party has split into two camps in response to President Donald Trump’s actions as the administration signals plans for prolonged control of the country.