A political group led by former Republican strategist Sarah Longwell is expanding a billboard campaign that blames President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for rising consumer costs, placing 350 billboards across Michigan, Ohio, and Iowa ahead of the 2026 midterm elections — three Midwestern states that backed Trump in 2024 and that will host Senate and gubernatorial contests next year.

The group, Home of the Brave, launched its “Sticker Shock Summer” campaign over the summer with an initial media buy of $1.25 million. After early billboards proved successful, the organization is adding an additional $1 million to deploy the new displays across the three states, Semafor reported on Tuesday.

Each billboard features a photograph of Trump alongside phrases such as “Higher grocery prices,” “Tariffs supported by Republicans,” and “Gas prices” — the last of which the group links to the Iran war.

The billboards amplify an economic message being promoted by disaffected GOP strategists. “Job number one is winning back Congress. Once we do that, we can start finally holding this administration accountable,” said Longwell, a member of Home of the Brave’s advisory board and a longtime Never Trump voice.

The displays are only one component of “Sticker Shock Summer,” a $15 million education-and-mobilization effort — named for the jolt consumers feel when checkout prices come in higher than expected — that later grew to include more than 300 billboards across 16 states, including Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Wisconsin.

Longwell has consistently framed the economy as the decisive issue for voters in 2026, and the polling environment supports that emphasis. Surveys show 84 percent of Americans view the economy as their top issue, and the affordability crisis has grown especially acute as voters increasingly blame Trump’s own policies — rather than outside factors — for persistent inflation.

In a recent AP-NORC poll, only 17 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, while 65 percent said his policies, rather than factors beyond his control, were more responsible for high prices.

That frustration is also bleeding into the Republican coalition. Pew found that the share of Republicans who say Trump’s policies have improved the economy fell from 57 percent in January to 39 percent by early October. Meanwhile, concern over gas and energy prices reached 65 percent among Republicans.

Trump has told his supporters, “I’m on the ballot,” and Longwell’s group is leaning into that framing from the president. The challenge for Republican candidates is twofold: they must defend an unpopular economic record while persuading an angry, financially strained voter base to turn out. With inflation, grocery bills, and fuel prices dominating the campaign, Trump’s economic standing is narrowing Republicans’ path to holding Congress — and Longwell is eagerly playing into it. Whether the billboard blitz deepens that unease, or Republican candidates find a way to reframe the economic debate, is one of the storylines to watch as the 2026 midterms approach.