Democrats, Republicans Mark 100 Days to Midterms With Different Messages

With hotly-contested House, Senate, and gubernatorial seats up for grabs, the two parties released agenda announcements 100 days out.
Democrats, Republicans Mark 100 Days to Midterms With Different Messages
"I Voted" stickers at an early voting polling site as North Carolina begins its midterm primary elections, in Greenville, N.C., on Feb. 12, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
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The national party committees on both sides marked 100 days until the midterm elections on July 26 with a weekend series of memos, statements, and advertising announcements that framed the final three months of the campaign around largely different subjects. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Four Democratic committees—the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), and the Democratic National Committee (DNC)—built their statements around household costs.

Republican committees also made affordability claims and paired them with election security and arguments about the Democratic Party’s direction.

A July 26 DCCC memorandum said the committee will “stay grounded in messaging that centers around the cost of living.”

The memo said the committee’s 2026 battlefield consists of 72 districts: 26 frontline seats held by Democratic incumbents, 25 seats it seeks to flip blue, and 21 additional districts it describes as being in play.

It said President Donald Trump carried 56 of the 72 are districts in 2024, and characterized some recent polling as moving in Democrats’ favor since mid-2025.

The memo also said second-quarter fundraising favored Democrats, with 20 candidates averaging $1.3 million raised.

Separately, the DCCC circulated a document listing 100 items it attributes to congressional Republicans, roughly a third tied to consumer costs, healthcare spending, or tariffs. The committee also announced a four-figure digital advertising campaign running on Meta platforms beginning July 26 across the 25 districts it’s trying to flip.

“One hundred days out from Election Day, Senate Democrats are well-positioned to win the majority, with multiple paths to get there,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

“Across the map, we have strong Democratic candidates running formidable campaigns laser-focused on the issues that matter most to voters, from the affordability crisis that Republicans created to the healthcare access cliff Republicans built when they passed their billionaire tax giveaway bill one year ago.”

DGA chair and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, in a statement issued July 24, said Democratic candidates for governor are “sharing their positive visions to lower costs.” The DGA said it is defending 10 incumbent governors and targeting Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, and Nevada among 36 races.

The DNC also announced a weekend of action with 425 organizing events across 42 states and four territories, saying volunteers would hold more than 15,000 conversations with voters.

“Democrats throughout the country are all gas, no brakes,” DNC chair Ken Martin said.

“We are pounding the pavement and continuing to do the work that wins elections—from registering voters and signing up new volunteers to knocking on doors, making phone calls, and hosting hundreds of events. We are organizing everywhere, fighting for every vote, and making the investments necessary to win up and down the ballot.”

GOP Focuses on Elections, Socialism

Republican committees said Democratic policy would raise taxes and increase federal spending, and directed much of their messaging at the Democratic Party’s direction.

“The stakes have never been higher,” said Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Joe Gruters.

“We know what Democrats will do if they take control: investigate, obstruct, impeach, and reverse all the progress Republicans have made for the American people. We have the resources, the candidates, and the best messenger in the history of our party—President Donald J. Trump. And in 100 days, Republicans will defy history and protect our majorities in Congress.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee announced a new digital advertisement, titled “Hold the Line,” which the committee said references what it called a proxy battle between House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani across multiple races this summer in which progressive Mamdani-backed candidates defeated incumbent Democrats supported by Jeffries.

“Democrats want to export New York’s ‘commie corridor’ to a state near you, bringing crippling tax hikes, dismantled law enforcement, and bloated government spending with it,” said NRSC National press secretary Bernadette Breslin. “Americans will reject Democrats’ socialist spending spree this November and elect Republicans committed to advancing an affordability agenda that keeps the American Dream within reach.”

An RNC rapid response email said Democrats “are in a race to the Left,” listing policy positions the committee attributed to Senate and House candidates, including on policing, immigration enforcement, and voter identification requirements.

A separate RNC release focused on election administration, saying the committee is engaged in more than 160 lawsuits across 36 states over voter identification laws, noncitizen voting, mail voting procedures, and voter roll maintenance. It said the RNC’s Protect the Vote program mobilized more than 230,000 volunteers and 6,000 attorneys in 2024 and is being expanded for 2026.

In a July 25 interview with Spectrum News, Gruters said the RNC has “the most cash on hand ever” and described the DNC as “borderline bankrupt,” saying it carries $18 million in debt. The DNC’s July 20 filing with the Federal Election Commission reported $18.5 million in debt against $16.3 million in cash on hand.

Gruters also noted a Supreme Court ruling striking down coordinated campaign spending limits gives a strong advantage to the GOP’s financial position.

Election administration surfaced on the Democratic side as well, from the opposite direction. The DCCC memo claimed Republicans are attempting to “cheat their way to victory” through campaign finance litigation, mid-decade redistricting, and executive orders it said are designed to make voting harder.

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Chase Smith
Chase Smith
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Chase is an award-winning journalist. He covers national politics for The Epoch Times. For news tips, send Chase an email at [email protected] or connect with him on X.
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