ABC News (US)
· collected 2026-10-06 · by MATT BROWN Associated Press
Republicans return to tough-on-crime message ahead of difficult midterm elections
asserted
Republicans → return → elections
Republicans are focusing on crime and public disorder in midterm election campaigns, as voters grow frustrated with their handling of the cost of living and the war with Iran
WASHINGTON --
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voters → focus → Iran
Political advertising warns about Democratic plots to defund the police.
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advertising → warn → police
Campaign events feature law enforcement unions and tough talk about law and order.
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events → feature → law
Stump speeches boast about record low levels of violent crime.
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speeches → boast → crime
From coast to coast, Republicans are focusing on public disorder, illegal immigration and violent crime in midterm campaigns as voters sour on their party's handling of the cost of living and the war with Iran.
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voters → focus → Iran
The messaging reflects a belief that lawlessness is safer political ground in the midterms despite Donald Trump's own criminal record for paying hush money to a porn star, making him the only president to be convicted of a felony.
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him → reflect → felony
Democrats have tried to counter the attacks by recruiting candidates with law enforcement backgrounds and emphasizing their own anti-crime plans, but Republicans believe it's a rare opportunity to go on the offensive in an otherwise challenging year.
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it → try → year
“Do you know that right now we have the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years in America right now?
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we → know → America
Because we emphasize the rule of law,” House Speaker Mike Johnson recently told an audience at Louisiana State University.
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Johnson → emphasize → University
Crime rates have generally trended down since the 1990s with a brief spike during the COVID pandemic.
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rates → trend → pandemic
“We have the most secure border we have had in the past half century."
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we → have → century
Trump returned to the topic on Monday night in Nebraska, warning about how the country used to be before he returned to the White House.
"We had a border with people pouring in, crime like nobody’s ever seen," he said.
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he → return → border
In Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Texas and Wisconsin, Republican candidates for governor have attacked their Democratic rivals as weak on crime or warned they could cut police funding.
uncertain
they → attack → funding
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, for instance, has lambasted Democratic nominee and state Rep. Gina Hinojosa for not supporting legislation that would require judges to deny bail to illegal immigrants charged with a violent crime.
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that → lambast → crime
Hinojosa has campaigned on her tenure as a civil rights lawyer and criticized Abbott's crime policies as violating civil liberties.
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Hinojosa → campaign → liberties
Rick Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive running in Georgia, has repeatedly attacked Democratic opponent Keisha Lance Bottoms over her tenure as Atlanta mayor.
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Jackson → run → mayor
“I grew up in the type of neighborhood Keisha Lance Bottoms abandoned," Jackson said at a summer campaign rally.
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Jackson → grow → rally
“I know who gets hurt when politicians defund the police.”
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politicians → know → police
In an interview with Atlanta station 11Alive, Bottoms emphasized that her administration gave pay raises to police and firefighters, and said she called for increased federal funding for public safety during her time as mayor.
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she → emphasize → mayor
In Virginia’s first congressional district, Rep. Rob Wittman has attacked his Democratic opponent Shannon Taylor, a former county prosecutor, over her allegedly “soft on crime" record in office.
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Wittman → attack → office
In Michigan’s 10th district, Republican Michael Bouchard is running on his service as a Bronze Star Army captain and son of a longtime local sheriff.
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Bouchard → run → sheriff
He's claimed his Democratic opponent, former prosecutor Christina Hines, supports “woke, soft on crime, socialist policies."
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opponent → claim → policies
In Colorado’s eighth district, Rep. Gabe Evans touts his time as a police officer against Democratic challenger Manny Rutinel.
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Evans → tout → Rutinel
And in Wisconsin’s third district, Rep. Derrick Van Orden hopes to win a third race against Democratic nominee Rebecca Cooke by painting her as a communist who wants to defund the police.
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who → hop → police
Republicans hope that by reprising warnings of crime and disorder the party can reenergize their disillusioned base and win back skeptical moderate voters who have drifted over concerns like affordability.
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who → hope → affordability
Democratic rivals have responded in kind.
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rivals → respond → kind
Taylor aired an ad featuring 13 local sheriffs who endorsed her campaign.
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who → air → campaign
Rutinel aired ads with local police and rolled out a safety plan that called for greater police funding and drug prevention programs.
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that → air → funding
Hines said she'll continue to prioritize public safety and prosecute corruption in Washington.
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she → say → Washington
Cooke has vowed to fully fund police departments in Congress.
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Cooke → vow → Congress
It's yet to be seen if the strategy will prove effective.
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strategy → see → ?
“We’ve got to talk about it.
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We → get → it
I think that in many ways, we are the victim of our own success because it’s off the headlines a little bit more,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican and former state attorney general.
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Schmitt → think → headlines
“Having a completely secure border now, no one even talks about it.
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one → have → it
But that’s a huge accomplishment from where we were at before.”
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we → ’ → where
An AP-NORC poll conducted in September found that border security — which Trump and Republicans often link to crime — was a relative strength for Trump, with 48% of U.S. adults saying they approved of his performance on the issue.
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they → conduct → issue
Not everyone in the party is sold on Republicans rehashing the crime message.
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Republicans → sell → message
“I don’t see that bubbling up as a major issue for the voters,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who chose not to seek reelection this year.
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who → see → reelection
Aiming to make the race to succeed Tillis a referendum on crime, Republicans have run ads claiming that Democratic nominee Roy Cooper went easy on convicts during his two terms in the governor’s mansion.
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Cooper → aim → mansion
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
