Matt Towery Delivers Blunt News To GOP About Midterms And Advises Them How To Prepare

Pollster Matt Towery said Friday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that Republicans need to motivate voters to turn out in the 2026 midterm elections, as polls indicate a Democrat lead.

While RealClear Polling has Democrats leading for the 2026 generic congressional vote, some have cast doubt on Democrats being able to flip the House or Senate. Discussing Democrats’ attempts to gain voters back for 2026, guest host Jason Chaffetz asked Towery if he believes the party could gain movement despite continually pushing the same message they lost with in 2024. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: How House GOP Plans To Turn ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Into Weapon Against Dems In Midterms)

“They continue to have surrogates who throw crazy ideas. The newest one is, of course, that prayer is not good. Right after a tragic shoot[ing], you’re not supposed to pray. So that’s another problem they have. On top of their stand against crime, in which they basically say they don’t want Trump to do anything to clean up crime in these blue states. The people see this sort of stuff, and it really is hurting the brand,” Towery said. “You would think the people who advise Cracker Barrel are advising the Democrats right now.”

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“But I want to give one quick warning, though, to all Republicans, and that is I’m a pollster. I polled Donald Trump very well. Midterms are not as easy. One of the things we’re seeing right now from the RealClearPolitics average, there’s not one poll of the public that says the Republicans are leading in that generic congressional ballot test. Now, I think it has to do with the way they poll. I don’t think it’s really a reality. But the Republicans need to be ready for the midterms. It’s about motivating people to turn out to vote,” Towery added. “That’s going to take some creative things like Donald Trump talking about having a pre midterm convention, which is brilliant.”

With RealClear Polling showing Democrats having a 3.1-point lead over Republicans for the 2026 generic congressional vote, CNN’s Harry Enten warned the party on July 16 that Democrats are still historically lagging in the polling. Enten detailed how Democrats have historically led in the generic congressional ballot by at least seven points, adding that, despite President Donald Trump’s polling, “Democrats have not come anywhere close to sealing the deal at this particular point.”

Despite Democrats’ confidence in flipping seats ahead of the 2026 midterms, a slew of recent polls show the party’s approval ratings plunging to near-historic lows. According to a CNN poll conducted in March, Democrats’ favorability hit just 29% and dropped a staggering 20 points since January 2021.

In addition, a report released by the New York Times found that between the 2020 and 2024 elections, Democrats lost an estimated 2.1 million voters across 30 states and Washington, D.C., while Republicans added 2.4 million registered voters and gained more new voters than Democrats between 2024 and 2025.

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