There is a little more than a month left until the United States midterm elections, and Republicans are going from "low faith" to pure panic, with a political climate that does not favor them and a high likelihood of losing not only the House of Representatives but even the Senate, according to the local press. In recent weeks, the electoral outlook for Republican leaders ahead of the November 3 elections has deteriorated drastically. Gasoline prices are through the roof, diesel sets a new record almost daily, and in that same vein, President Donald Trump declared at the United Nations that the war with Iran will not end until "after the midterm elections." On this, The Wall Street Journal headlined: "Trump predicts success in the midterm elections, but Republicans begin to panic." According to the newspaper, the president's approval rating fell to 37% in a WSJ poll, the lowest figure recorded for a president heading into midterms in the paper's surveys since 1990. And even though Trump's popularity is hitting historic lows, the president insists and has just announced that he will begin a 32-day tour to support his candidates. This, in a context where many contenders in the legislative race would prefer to distance themselves from the White House. The polls are against them, and although they vary in magnitude and margin, they all say more or less the same thing. Reuters, in a poll in mid-September, indicated that overall voting intention stood at 43% for Democrats and 35% for Republicans: an eight-point gap that was marked as the largest recorded in 2026. Now, this does not necessarily translate into the Democrats winning both chambers. To take control of the Senate, they need four more seats. Of the nine most contested states, Georgia, Michigan, and New Hampshire are already theirs and must be kept. The other six, that is, Maine, North Carolina, Alaska, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas, "are up for grabs," with poll results favorable to Democrats or virtually tied. And amid all this, a major disadvantage for Republicans is the growing repudiation of the Iran war, which has driven up gasoline prices and is already sparking controversy among candidates. The Senate will vote this week on a resolution on war powers, and it is seen as the last chance before the elections for Republicans in vulnerable positions, such as Senators Dan Sullivan (Alaska) and Jon Husted (Ohio), to vote in favor of ending the conflict. Senator Thom Tillis, who will soon retire, opined: "In many of these tight races, like the one in North Carolina, if no distance is marked from Trump, the situation will be very difficult," he told CNN. With diesel prices at $6.53 per gallon ($1.73 per liter), lawmakers are calling for an export ban to be imposed, just as Trump did. On Tuesday, Sullivan announced his support for an export moratorium, stating that diesel prices in Alaska are "damn high." Later, he commented that the export ban and the war in Iran are "linked," but he declined to clarify whether he plans to support the war powers resolution. Republican Senator from Alaska, Dan Sullivan. Manuel Balce Ceneta Amid all this, Donald Trump's administration is more unpopular than ever, with only a 35% approval rating. And yet, the president announced that he will undertake a 32-day tour across the country to campaign ahead of the "midterms." "So you understand: everyone wants me to go. I am one person and everyone wants me to campaign. In two days I will begin a trip of literally 32 days to go everywhere. To Texas, to Ohio, to many different places," he explained at a press conference at the White House. At least the occupant of the White House appears confident about the networks. "I will be there spending money and helping each of them get elected. I won in most of these places, often by a landslide. MAGA: imagine my name being on the ballot," Trump wrote Monday morning in a post on Truth Social while commenting on Republicans' prospects in the midterm elections. However, both in swing territories and even in some Republican-leaning districts, candidates have distanced themselves from Trump on issues ranging from the war with Iran and the economy to immigration. Republican Mike Rogers, a Senate candidate in Michigan in one of the tightest races of this election cycle, lamented in a recent ad: "Groceries cost too much. We have to bring prices down. The war with Iran must end, and end soon. When that happens, energy costs will plummet, but Michigan families cannot afford to wait for that to happen." Mike Rogers, candidate for senator from Michigan. Chip Somodevilla In interviews with CNN, Trump's advisers have acknowledged "that there is little expectation that he will attract a large number of independent and undecided voters," a key sector for his victory in decisive states in 2024. And although they are more worried about losing control of the House of Representatives, the confidence Republicans previously had in retaining the Senate is fading day by day. That is precisely why Trump's tour would not seek to win over undecided voters: advisers believe their only hope of holding their seats lies in increasing voter turnout, something the occupant of the White House can contribute to. "The system is based on identifying those areas where we need to boost turnout by 2 to 3 points," a political operative told CNN.