A political "prairie fire" has swept across the Midwest, putting Republican senators on the defensive as they worry that President Donald Trump is only pouring fuel on the flames, Politico reported Sunday.

Republicans told Politico they are deeply concerned that Democrats will reclaim control of the Senate in November, as Trump's policy agenda hits farmers hard while the president promotes his personal brand. Farm states have long leaned Republican in federal races, which is what makes the current unease in states like North Dakota, Kansas, and Iowa notable for both parties heading into the midterms.

"He's in serious trouble in farm country," Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told Politico. "He being Trump — and Trump is us. I'm not very optimistic."

The Midwest is critical terrain for Democrats hoping to flip Republican seats, Politico noted. If they hold Michigan and pick up Ohio and Iowa, Democrats will almost certainly control the Senate for the final two years of Trump's term. Senate control would shape how much of Trump's agenda can advance — or be checked — during the closing stretch of his presidency.

Trump has become a difficult sell in those states as tariffs pile up, gas prices spike, and the president permits imported beef. Agriculture is heavily export-dependent, and trade retaliation against U.S. tariffs has historically hit Midwestern commodity growers particularly hard, a dynamic that echoes the trade disputes of Trump's first term.

Adam Hamilton, a pastor-turned-Democratic nominee challenging Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), told Politico that people in Kansas are feeling desperate.

"What I'm hearing when I go across the state is people saying — and these are Republicans, not Democrats — we can't have six more years of this, or even two more years of this," Hamilton said.

Josh Turek, the Democratic state lawmaker running against Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), described a similar situation in Iowa.

"We're going through a second farm crisis right now, Farmageddon," Turek said. The "farm crisis" label invokes the 1980s, when a collapse in land values and farm debt devastated rural communities across the Midwest — a comparison that underscores the severity supporters of the term attach to current conditions.

Even as these Democrats capitalize on Trump's sagging popularity among struggling Americans, the president is hoarding campaign cash and using the powers of his office for personal enjoyment, Politico reported.

"When Trump is not living the life of a 12-year-old boy — hosting UFC fights on the White House lawn and watching Indy cars go vroom through downtown D.C. — he's fixated on naming things after himself," the report states.

"It's all so small. Yet it's no laughing matter when the American voter is paying $4 for a gallon of regular."