Republican pollsters and strategists are raising concerns about voter enthusiasm ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, according to a Sunday report from The Washington Post, which cited new data showing signs of a gap within the party’s own base.

The Post reported that GOP operatives are warning that Republican voters appear “listless and demotivated” as the party enters a midterm cycle in which it needs strong turnout. The concerns come as Republicans already face a difficult political environment, including President Donald Trump’s low standing in polls and the historical tendency for the party controlling Washington to lose seats in midterm elections. Midterm electorates are typically smaller than presidential-year electorates, making base enthusiasm and turnout operations especially important for both parties.

“A raft of discouraging data from polling, door knocking and focus groups is unsettling Republicans as their party heads into a midterm election season that would be challenging no matter what, given President Donald Trump’s low standing in polls and the fact that the party in control in Washington almost always loses seats,” the Post explained. “The lack of enthusiasm is reaching deep into Republicans’ loyal base, spreading to the party’s most consistent voters — who have shown up to vote in all of the past four primaries and general elections, according to an analysis done by Americans for Prosperity Action, a conservative super PAC that was founded by billionaire Charles Koch. This new issue with the base adds to the party’s more enduring problem of turning out less-frequent voters who support Trump but often skip midterm elections.”

According to the report, Americans for Prosperity Action has found that about 1 in 5 reliable Republican base voters are at risk this November. Nathan Nascimento, executive director at AFP Action, said those voters are in Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, Montana, New Hampshire and Michigan. The group’s data, based on polling and extensive door-knocking outreach to targeted Republican voters, found that some are saying they may stay home while others are considering voting for Democrats.

The Post reported that these voters are mainly concerned about inflation and the economy, issues that have repeatedly ranked among voters’ top concerns in national polling during Trump’s second term.

“This is a big chunk,” Nascimento said. “This is a scary number.”

Nascimento also said the problem is distinct from a longer-running challenge Republicans have faced over the past decade: turning out “low-propensity” voters who support Trump but tend to vote only in presidential elections when he is on the ballot. Some observers have described Trump’s pull with those voters as “mythical,” but the pattern has created difficulties for Republicans in off-year and midterm elections. It also raises challenges for the party going forward because Trump is term-limited.

“We have a high-propensity base problem,” Nascimento added.

The Post also quoted Lance Sulentic, a 56-year-old three-time Trump voter from Iowa, who described his previous support for the president as “the worst three mistakes I’ve ever made in my life.” Sulentic criticized what he characterized as Trump’s failure to keep 2024 campaign promises and said he is now feeling new financial pressure at the gas pump.

“We voted for Trump, and he did the opposite of what he said he was going to do,” Sulentic said. “Gas prices were going to be two dollars, food was going to be cheaper, energy prices was going to be in half, we were going to get two rebate checks to the American people, and we weren’t going to have any new wars, and we were going to build a wall and deport 30 million illegal aliens, and he did none of it.”