Republicans want voters to think of working-class tax cuts when they weigh the economy and the 2025 law that President Donald Trump calls his “big beautiful bill.” But Democrats point to inflation on everything from groceries and gas to health care and housing. They want voters to blame Trump's policies, including his war in Iran.
The Afternoon WireTrump's proposed 'Golden Dome' estimated to cost $1.2 trillion, far more than he initially saidMemphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, a veteran of 7 NBA seasons, dies at 29Rick Riordan unveils new 'Camp Half-Blood' novels, starting this fallThe Iran war is hitting home as gasoline prices fuel inflation surge of 3.8% in the USViral phenomenon in Argentina has young people identifying themselves as animals1 million bees make for bumper-to-buzzer traffic on a Tennessee highway rampPCOS is now called PMOS.
What the name change means for careA photo captures President Trump and first lady awaiting British royals from rare White House angleThe World in PicturesPediatrics group issues new guidance on recess for the first time in 13 yearsHealth advice is all over social media.
Here's how to vet claimsWhat to know about hantavirus, the illness linked to a cruise ship outbreakThe barista is human but an AI agent runs this experimental Swedish cafeMicrogardening means getting a surprisingly big harvest from a windowsill or balcony gardenElaborately decorated skeletons in Catholic churches across Bavaria take some visitors by surpriseExposición revela el lado vanguardista y moderno de Frida Kahlo y Diego Rivera
What the name change means for careA photo captures President Trump and first lady awaiting British royals from rare White House angleThe World in PicturesPediatrics group issues new guidance on recess for the first time in 13 yearsHealth advice is all over social media. Here's how to vet claimsWhat to know about hantavirus, the illness linked to a cruise ship outbreakThe barista is human but an AI agent runs this experimental Swedish cafeMicrogardening means getting a surprisingly big harvest from a windowsill or balcony gardenElaborately decorated skeletons in Catholic churches across Bavaria take some visitors by surpriseExposición revela el lado vanguardista y moderno de Frida Kahlo y Diego RiveraEvan Duke, a 30-year-old bartender who lives in Raleigh, N.C.
, works at the Pearl & Peril, March 10, 2026, in the city’s Glenwood South bar district. Michael Aycock, 56, left, and his mother Phyllis Aycock, 79, discuss economic conditions as they stand on the showroom floor of their antiques shop in downtown Nashville, N.C. , March 11, 2026. North Carolina Republican candidate for Senate Michael Whatley addresses a crowd, March 13, 2026, in Rocky Mount, N.C.
President Donald Trump speaks at an event about maternal healthcare, Monday, May 11, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. Evan Duke, a 30-year-old bartender who lives in Raleigh, N.C. , works at the Pearl & Peril, March 10, 2026, in the city’s Glenwood South bar district. Evan Duke, a 30-year-old bartender who lives in Raleigh, N.C.
, works at the Pearl & Peril, March 10, 2026, in the city’s Glenwood South bar district. Michael Aycock, 56, left, and his mother Phyllis Aycock, 79, discuss economic conditions as they stand on the showroom floor of their antiques shop in downtown Nashville, N.C. , March 11, 2026.
Michael Aycock, 56, left, and his mother Phyllis Aycock, 79, discuss economic conditions as they stand on the showroom floor of their antiques shop in downtown Nashville, N.C. , March 11, 2026. North Carolina Republican candidate for Senate Michael Whatley addresses a crowd, March 13, 2026, in Rocky Mount, N.C. North Carolina Republican candidate for Senate Michael Whatley addresses a crowd, March 13, 2026, in Rocky Mount, N.C.
President Donald Trump speaks at an event about maternal healthcare, Monday, May 11, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. President Donald Trump speaks at an event about maternal healthcare, Monday, May 11, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. higher costs for rent, food and fuelDuke’s dilemma is an economic microcosm of Donald Trump’s second presidency.
Although the Republican president has tried to put more money in middle-class pockets with tax cuts, the benefits are being eroded as prices keep rising, especially during the war with Iran. The latest numbers, released Tuesday, showed the rate of inflationAll of these economic issues have been center stage in the battleground state of North Carolina and its U.S. Senate race. Michael Whatley, the Republican nominee and former national party chairman, is championing Trump’s tax overhaul.
Roy Cooper, the Democratic candidate and a former governor, is panning Trump’s management of the U.S. economy. Duke, a registered independent, isn’t sure who he’ll support. Like a lot of Americans who vote with their wallets, he expects to decide based on “how things are going at the time. ”The dividing line is what Trump called “the one big beautiful bill,” his signature legislation that cuts taxes but also reduces funding for public programs like Medicaid.
When Whatley recently appeared with Vice President JD Vance in Rocky Mount, he said the midterm elections were about “protecting no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security. ”. But his remarks showed how much Republicans want voters to see the legislation as a “working families tax cut,” as they’ve taken to calling it.
“I don’t know about you, but I sure trust you to spend your money better than a federal government in D.C. ,” Whatley said. Tracy Brill, 62, a Trump supporter in the audience, said she was willing to cope with rising costs due to the war.
“The course he’s taken is spot on,” she said, adding that “I believe the other presidents didn’t do what they should have done. ”and Republicans’ refusal to extend expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act premiums. And they highlight housing and utility prices, hikes on consumer goods affected by Trump’s tariffs, and ripple effects from the president’s Iran war on everything from fuel and farmer’s fertilizer costs to groceries.
“It seems like everything that Washington is doing is driving up costs across the board,” Cooper said in Greensboro. It’s a convenient turnabout for Democrats. President Joe Biden and his party had previously faced blame for inflation, which Trump capitalized on in his comeback campaign, but now Republicans shoulder the brunt of voters’ angst.
Republicans have a larger margin in the U.S. Senate than in the U.S. House, but Democrats believe economic dissatisfaction gives them a shot at full control of Congress. North Carolina is a top target along with Maine, Ohio and Alaska. There are even hopes that Iowa and Texas could be competitive, too.
Democrats have long struggled to win Senate seats in North Carolina, but they believe they have a better shot this year because Republican incumbent Cooper also enjoys a centrist reputation and has won six statewide elections already, including two gubernatorial contests in cycles when Trump carried North Carolina. Whatley has deep ties in Republican circles as a former lobbyist and longtime party leader, but he’s not yet well known to voters.
Phyllis Aycock, a 79-year-old antiques store owner in Nash County, is leaning toward Cooper even after voting for Trump three times. She said she regrets her most recent vote for the president.
“It’s the whole trickle-down effect,” Aycock said, explaining that economic uncertainty and inflation, including premium hikes on health insurance that supplements her Medicare and cancels out Social Security cost-of-living adjustments and any tax breaks she’s received during Trump’s tenure. She said she wonders whether Trump “even thinks about the cause-and-effect of what he does or what he doesn’t do, how it directly affects us, and when I say ‘us,’ I definitely mean the middle-class, lower-class working people, the blue collar, the ones that pay the taxes.
” “It just seems like there’s no relief for us, like it’s all for the guy who has everything already,” she said. Aycock and her son, Michael, said they’ve seen foot traffic and purchases at their store decrease, which sits a few doors down from the law office where Cooper and his father once practiced. The elder Aycock said she doesn’t know Cooper personally but has voted for him before and would consider doing so again.
As for Whatley, she’s heard only fealty to Trump. She tightened her lips, then said, “I’m worried he’s just a yes man. We’ve got enough of those. ”— a government insurance program for low-income or disabled adults and children in poor or working-class households — under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
Cooper talks about that program alongside his criticism of Republicans’ refusal to extend pandemic-era subsidies for private insurance plans. The issue has drawn supporters like Emily Miller, a 43-year-old from Greensboro who volunteers on various voter turnout efforts that benefit Democrats.
“Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act absolutely have saved my life,” said Miller, who has physical health problems. As a Kentucky and then North Carolina resident, she leaned on the 2010 law’s benefits between her time as a public schoolteacher and her return to the workforce as an education consultant. When she didn’t have a full-time job, Miller said, she required expensive medical care, including some inpatient mental health services.
She said her part-time jobs at the time would not have covered private insurance costs, much less direct market rates for her treatment.
“I’m very grateful I’ve gotten back to a place where I’ve got a career again,” Miller said, with employer-based coverage. “I’m an example of exactly what this system is supposed to do. It was a bridge. And so many people, people who are working, are struggling like that.
” Miller is also skeptical that people will benefit from Trump’s legislation to cut taxes on overtime pay.
“I had an overtime-eligible job,” she said, “and I had bosses who would send us home before we got those extra hours. ”James Outlaw, a 60-year-old in rural Bertie County, said he’ll probably vote in November but doesn’t see things improving regardless of the outcome.
“It won’t get no better,” he said, as he filled in his lotto numbers at a local convenience store. “Never does. ”Back behind the bar in downtown Raleigh, Duke looked forward to the coming weekend, which would bring thirstier crowds and, hopefully, more tips. He said he appreciates getting “a few thousand dollars” from the tax breaks, and he said he’d “at least look at” Whatley, the Republican candidate.
But he also thinks of the back-of-the-house workers who don’t earn tips and won’t benefit from it. As for his lack of health insurance, Duke said that’s not enough to guarantee his vote for Cooper, even as he remembered the Democratic nominee as “a pretty good governor. ”That may be the outlook Republicans need as they urge voters to be patient. While speaking in Rocky Mount, Vance assured the audience that Trump wouldn’t let the economy languish.
Roy A. Cooper Michael Whatley JD Vance Iran War U.S. Democratic Party North Carolina Voting U.S. Republican Party Economic Indicators Taxes Inflation General News 2026 Elections NC State Wire Iran Government And Politics Joe Biden Personal Insurance Government Programs Midterm Elections Thom Tillis Real Estate Phyllis Aycock Washington News Elections Government Policy Business James Outlaw Economy U.S. News Emily Miller Health Care Industry Barack Obama Legislation Health Care Costs Tracy Brill Evan Duke Consumer Products And Services United States Senate Politics Washington News U.S. News
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bitcoin Signals Key On-Chain Recovery as Profitability Hits Strongest Level Since October 2025Bitcoin sees increased profit-taking activity as recent market spikes put sellers in profit while price retains the $80,000 level.
Read more »
Steam 2025 Open-World Game Is 100% Free For 24 HoursNicholas Becher, MFA covers gaming at Screen Rant with expert insight, trusted news, and fan-focused analysis.
Read more »
Trump's tax cuts hand Republicans a killer argument for the midtermsFox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
Read more »
Republicans split on suspending federal gas tax despite Trump backingMajority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters that anytime the gas tax is paused, a “big hole” is left in the Highway Trust Fund.
Read more »