Gas prices are brutal. Giving Democrats Congress would be worse | Opinion - USA Today

Polls and other data suggest Republicans could face a bloodbath in the November midterm elections.

When I voted for President Donald Trump in 2024, I didn't consider myself a MAGA Republican, though I'm sure I look like one to the average Democrat. My vote was transactional, as it was for a remarkable number of conservatives, especially young men. Their mandate was clear: Destroy the establishment, shrink unnecessary government programs, cut taxes, strengthen the military, secure the border and give back to the people what's theirs.

Many of those voters now feel shortchanged, and I understand why. But conservatives who stay home this November, or hand Congress to Democrats to send a message, would be trading lasting wins for a protest vote over gas prices.

Trump's strong start didn't last. He campaigned on no new wars and low gas prices. Now gas prices are approaching their highest level of the year, diesel has hit record highs and he started a war with Iran that has no end game. Polling shows the war was the turning point – when his job approval rating began to slide.

Americans have less money in their pockets, and those feeling the squeeze could hand Democrats a blue wave. Gas prices are brutal, yes. But a Democratic sweep would be far worse.

It's easy to see why conservatives are ready to turn on Republicans who won the White House and both chambers of Congress then failed to govern like it. Senate Majority Leader John Thune posted on X on Sept. 22 that "Republicans have spent the last two years delivering on our agenda."

Yet Thune couldn't whip up enough votes to pass the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, a bill more than 70% of Americans support.

In March, I argued that conservatives should vote out Republicans who couldn't get it done, because the bill is essential to election integrity. It still is, but nearly every Democrat in Congress opposes the SAVE Act, and punishing Republicans by electing Democrats would guarantee it never becomes law.

Trump has been unfocused, sure. But conservatives have short memories. His first year produced a lot of wins.

Start with the border, a top concern for most voters. Trump effectively secured it. The Department of Homeland Security has reported 16 consecutive months in which Border Patrol released no migrants into the country, and Pew Research Center found that migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border are at their lowest level in 50 years.

Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut taxes for working-class Americans, raised the child tax credit to $2,200 and shielded much of workers' tips and overtime pay from federal income taxes.

Women's sports are better protected in states across the country, and in June the Supreme Court ruled that states may bar transgender athletes from competing on girls' and women's sports teams.

The administration's push to cut off federal funding has led dozens of hospitals and clinics to stop offering life-altering, irreversible medical treatments to transgender minors. That's a win for hurting kids and their families.

As frustrating as Trump is right now, conservatives have two options: Keep Republicans in power, knowing they've delivered wins, or vote them out (or stay home) and bet that Democrats will do better.

Take the Democratic Socialists of America, which has run or endorsed nearly 200 candidates this cycle. Sixty-four of those races, including several for key seats in Congress, will be decided in November. Does anyone really think DSA members will bring down gas prices?

Early in his term, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani threatened to raise property taxes to close the city's budget gap. Then he won state approval for a new tax on luxury second homes. Voting for socialists to get relief from high gas prices is like hiring an arsonist to put out a fire.

True, a DSA-backed lawmaker might not have started a war with Iran. But he also wouldn't have shrunk the federal workforce or voted for no tax on tips. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, the most prominent DSA-backed member of Congress, called the provision a "scam" and voted against the bill that made it law.

Time and again, Democrats have voted against tax cuts, and they've even attacked the administration over Trump Accounts.

I know that Trump has let conservatives down, and that Republicans in power haven't delivered everything they promised. They should get back to the mandate voters gave them. But gas prices won't stay high forever, and the gains of the past two years should be protected. Staying home or handing Congress to Democrats now would be a shortsighted response to a temporary problem.

Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.