MIDTERMS COUNTDOWN: 99 Days and 99 Ways Republican Senate Candidates Are Deeply Flawed, Corrupt, and Out-of-Touch

Across the map, GOP Senate candidates are drowning in scandals, being exposed for self-dealing, called out for extreme records, and campaigning on a toxic agenda voters are rejecting

Election day is just under 100 days away, and across the map, Senate Republicans are stuck with deeply flawed candidates embroiled in scandals, plagued by conflicts of interest and self-dealing, and burdened by damaging records and shocking past statements that continue to come to light. 

Each flawed and damaged candidate is running on a failed, toxic agenda that has gutted health care, spiked prices, and made life harder for families across the country.  Republicans are faced with a set of weak, damaged candidates who are out-of-touch with their states – putting Democrats in a strong position to win in November. 

99 days out from Election Day, here are 99 examples of Republican Senate candidates’ flaws, corruption, controversies, and personal baggage: 

GOP SENATE CANDIDATES’ TOXIC AGENDA HAS CREATED AN AFFORDABILITY CRISIS, SPIKING COSTS AND MAKING LIFE HARDER FOR WORKING FAMILIES

GOP Senate candidates have all lined up behind the toxic agenda that has sent costs soaring. They’ve cheered on the price-spiking tariffs and forced families to pay more at the pump – all while they mock voters struggling to pay for it.

GOP Senate candidates have backed reckless, harmful tariffs that are driving up costs, hurting household budgets, and fueling an affordability crisis:

• DAN SULLIVAN: Supports and is “totally okay with” the GOP’s price-spiking tariffs, voting in favor of them multiple times and even backing legislation to make them “stronger from a legal perspective.”
• ASHLEY MOODY: Supports and praised the GOP’s price-spiking tariffs and voted against a resolution that would have stopped them.
• MIKE COLLINS: Supports the GOP’s price-spiking tariffs and argued that “our economy is better off because of them.”
• ASHLEY HINSON: Supports the GOP’s price-spiking tariffs and continued to defend them after the Supreme Court struck them down.
• SUSAN COLLINS: Has argued that her post as chair of “the most powerful committee in Congress” would help her “shape the fiscal priorities of our country” but has refused to use her power as Appropriations chair to stop Trump’s tariffs and even voted against an attempt to prevent the tariffs from increasing grocery prices.
• MIKE ROGERS: Supports the GOP’s price-spiking tariffs, calling them a “masterful” decision and an “absolute win.” Rogers bragged about introducing tariff legislation before tariffs were “popular” and claimed people needed to have a “little bit of patience” for tariffs to “work.”
• JOHN E. SUNUNU: Supports the GOP’s price-spiking tariffs, claiming tariffs were “important” and would have a “very modest” economic impact.
• SCOTT BROWN: Supports reckless tariffs that have spiked costs for New Hampshire families, calling them “great,” “amazing,” and “very, very important.”
• MICHAEL WHATLEY: “Wholeheartedly” supports the GOP’s price-spiking tariffs, claiming they would “ultimately” be good for North Carolina.
• JON HUSTED: Supports the GOP’s price-spiking tariffs, repeatedly voted against reining them in, and said they were giving Ohio businesses “a great boost.”
• KEN PAXTON: “Fully supports” the GOP’s price-spiking tariffs, calling them a “bold action.”

GOP Senate candidates have forced Americans to pay $56.4 billion more in gas prices:

• DAN SULLIVAN: Voted multiple times against efforts to rein in President Trump’s power to continue using military force in Iran without the explicit authorization of Congress. Rural Alaskans have faced fuel prices up to $10 a gallon, while Sullivan has even sent a fundraising email begging Alaskans to help pay for his gas money.
• ASHLEY MOODY: Voted multiple times against efforts to rein in President Trump’s power to continue using military force in Iran without the explicit authorization of Congress.
• MIKE COLLINS: Praised Trump’s highly unpopular war in Iran, saying that Trump is doing a “fantastic job.” Collins has also voted multiple times against resolutions that would rein in President Trump’s power to continue using military force in Iran without the explicit authorization of Congress.
• ASHLEY HINSON: Admitted that the war in Iran is a “political liability” while also voting multiple times against resolutions that would rein in President Trump’s power to continue using military force in Iran without the explicit authorization of Congress. 
• SUSAN COLLINS: Voted multiple times against efforts to rein in President Trump’s power to continue using military force in Iran without the explicit authorization of Congress. 
• MIKE ROGERS: Said that the Iran War “should have happened a long time ago” and told Michiganders struggling with rising prices that they’re “gonna be fine; we’ve got plenty of oil.” 
• JOHN E. SUNUNU: Defended Donald Trump’s unauthorized war on Iran and is cashing in as the war continues to spike gas prices for New Hampshire families. 
• MICHAEL WHATLEY: Defended Trump’s war with Iran that’s raising prices for North Carolinians, while holding “up to a million plus dollars” in investments in major oil companies, which grew by up to $219,660 between the start of Trump’s war in Iran and April 1. 
• JON HUSTED: Voted multiple times against efforts to rein in President Trump’s power to continue using military force in Iran without the explicit authorization of Congress. Husted has also claimed the Iran War is going “much better than anyone thought it would.”
• KEN PAXTON: Has “stood by” Trump’s actions in Iran and said he was “very glad” that Trump started the attacks.

GOP Senate candidates have ignored the affordability crisis they created, telling  struggling families: “take one less trip to Starbucks,” “learn how to budget,” & “be patriots”:

• DAN SULLIVAN: Claimed the economy is headed in the “right direction” and has written off the impacts of his affordability crisis as “externalities.”
• MIKE COLLINS: Said that he “wholeheartedly support[s]” Trump’s agenda, told struggling Georgians that “the economy is moving.”
• ASHLEY HINSON: Claimed that “Iowans are earning more [and] paying less after Trump’s return.”
• MIKE ROGERS: Argued that there is no “inflation, as a matter of fact, it’s down […] and that means working families, not paying more.” He also mocked concerns over rising costs, saying “Oh my gosh, coffee went up, you know, horror” and said Michiganders worried about rising costs are “nuts” and suffering “Trump derangement.” 
• MICHELE TAFOYA: Told Minnesotans that they should keep “a stiff upper lip,” “take one less trip to Starbucks,” and “just try to be patriots” about spiking gas prices. 
• CINDY HYDE-SMITH: Told Mississippians who can’t afford the rising costs of beef that they had “so many proteins to choose from, and all commodities go through peaks and valleys…”
• MICHAEL WHATLEY: Told voters to “take a look at what’s happening with the economy. President Trump campaigned on bringing down gasoline prices, grocery prices, and housing prices. How are we doing?”
• JON HUSTED: Told struggling Ohioans that their work ethic is “broken,” and to “earn more,” saying that they are “not very experienced at navigating the real world” and that they need to “learn how to budget.”

GOP SENATE CANDIDATES RIPPED AWAY HEALTH CARE, SPIKED COSTS, AND WAGED WAR ON REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM

GOP Senate candidates voted to rip away health care and spike costs for millions of Americans, gut Medicaid by tens of billions of dollars and threaten rural hospitals – all while backing draconian, unpopular abortion bans that punish women and doctors

Roughly 22 million Americans have seen health care costs spike, and many are forgoing insurance altogether because GOP Senate candidates refused to stop health care costs from rising: 

• DAN SULLIVAN: Repeatedly voted against extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits that were helping keep costs from rising. As a result, health insurance costs in Alaska have been projected to increase 125% – an average of $1,836.
• ASHLEY MOODY: Repeatedly voted against extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits that were keeping costs from rising. As a result, health insurance costs in Florida have been projected to increase 90% – an average of $528.
• MIKE COLLINS: Voted against extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits that were helping keep costs from rising. As a result, health insurance costs in Georgia have been projected to increase 85% – an average of $528.
• ASHLEY HINSON: Voted against extending the Affordable Care tax credits that were keeping costs from rising. As a result, health insurance costs in Iowa have been projected to increase 97% – an average of $1,080.
• SUSAN COLLINS: Repeatedly voted against extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits that were helping keep costs from rising, and called extending them a “poison pill.” As a result, health insurance costs in Maine have been projected to increase 117% – an average of $286.
• MIKE ROGERS: Opposed legislation that expanded the Affordable Care Act tax credits that were helping keep costs from rising. As a result, health insurance costs in Michigan have been projected to increase 70% – an average of $828.
• JOHN E. SUNUNU: Opposed extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits that were keeping costs from rising. As a result, health insurance costs in New Hampshire have been projected to increase 59% – an average of $876.
• MICHAEL WHATLEY: Opposed legislation that expanded the Affordable Care Act tax credits that were helping keep costs from rising. As a result, health insurance costs in North Carolina have been projected to increase 102% – an average of $672.
• JON HUSTED: Repeatedly voted against legislation that created the Affordable Care Act tax credits that were helping keep costs from rising. As a result, health insurance costs in Ohio have been projected to increase 83% – an average of $804.
• KEN PAXTON: Opposed legislation that expanded Affordable Care Act tax credits that were helping keep costs from rising. As a result, health insurance costs in Texas have been projected to increase 115% – an average of $456.

GOP Senate candidates backed the toxic plan that ripped away health care and food assistance from millions in order to give tax giveaways to billionaires:

• DAN SULLIVAN: Voted to take health care away from 28,000 Alaskans and rip away $2 billion in Medicaid funding from Alaska.
• ASHLEY MOODY: Voted to take away health care from 2.2 million Floridians and rip away over $14 billion in Medicaid funding from Florida.
• MIKE COLLINS: “Helped whip votes” and voted to take health care away from 721,000 Georgians and rip away $6 billion in Medicaid funding from Georgia.
• ASHLEY HINSON: Voted to take health care away from roughly 110,000 Iowans and rip away over $9 billion in Medicaid funding from Iowa.
• SUSAN COLLINS: Provided a “key” and “pivotal” vote to advance the bill that takes away health care from roughly 49,000 Mainers and rips away $3 billion in Medicaid funding from Maine.
• MIKE ROGERS: Supported the bill that takes away health care from roughly 390,000 Michiganders and rips away over $32 billion in Medicaid funding from Michigan.
• MICHAEL WHATLEY: Pushed to pass Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill, which will cause roughly 515,000 North Carolinians to lose health insurance, and North Carolina will lose over $23 billion in Medicaid funding.
• JON HUSTED: Voted to take health care away from roughly 460,000 Ohioans and rip away over $33 billion in Medicaid funding from Ohio.
• KEN PAXTON: Praised the bill that takes away health care from roughly 1.4 million Texans and rips away over $31 billion in Medicaid funding from Texas.

GOP Senate candidates played critical roles in overturning Roe v. Wade and backing draconian abortion bans: 

• DAN SULLIVAN: Calls himself “as pro-life as they come,” and personally opposed to abortion even in cases of rape, incest, or when a woman’s life is at risk. He urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, and celebrated when they did. Sullivan repeatedly supported a national abortion ban, which would throw doctors in jail.
• ASHLEY MOODY: Said overturning Roe v. Wade was “important,” and urged the Supreme Court to do so. Moody has also fought to reverse abortion rights protections in Florida, prevent Floridians from voting on the issue, and strip Planned Parenthood of funding.
• MIKE COLLINS: Is “unapologetically” anti-abortion. He has repeatedly cosponsored a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or life of the mother that would also outlaw IVF and threaten access to birth control. He celebrated the overturn of Roe v. Wade and backs Georgia’s 6-week ban, which punishes women and doctors.
• ASHLEY HINSON: Calls herself an anti-abortion “champion.” She has repeatedly cosponsored a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or life of the mother that would also outlaw IVF and threaten access to birth control. She backs Iowa’s six-week abortion ban, called “the most restrictive… in the nation.”
• SUSAN COLLINS: Cast the decisive vote for the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and has repeatedly said that she does not regret her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. She also voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore Roe v. Wade’s protections.
• MIKE ROGERS: Calls himself a “pro-life guy” who would not have voted for Michigan’s abortion rights ballot measure. He has called Roe a “travesty,” and has voted for a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, and for a ban that would outlaw IVF and threaten access to common forms of birth control.
• MICHELE TAFOYA: Served as a spokesperson for a staunchly anti-abortion group that advocates for banning abortion, and even attacked officials for defending a woman’s right to choose.
• JOHN E. SUNUNU: Said he “opposes Roe V. Wade” and voted for the Supreme Court Justice who authored the opinion that overturned Roe. He also voted against requiring hospitals to provide access to emergency contraceptives to rape victims and voted to defund Planned Parenthood and other family planning centers.
• MICHAEL WHATLEY: As chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, Whatley oversaw its adoption of a platform with a plank that would ban abortion nationwide with no exceptions. Whatley celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, praising the anti-abortion activists who made it possible.
• JON HUSTED: As Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor, Husted supported a draconian abortion ban without exception for rape, incest, or life of the mother. Husted also said he opposed abortion “in all cases, including to save the life of the mother,” and that he agreed with an 11-year-old Ohio girl being forced to give birth to her rapist’s baby.
• KEN PAXTON: Urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, and celebrated when they did, making the anniversary of the overturn of Roe an “annual holiday” for the Office of the Attorney General in Texas, giving staff the day off. Paxton defended and enforced Texas’s draconian abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, and called for restrictions on IVF.

REPUBLICANS ARE MIRED IN SCANDAL 

From indictments and FBI investigations to bribery scandals, ethics probes, stock trading violations, and sweetheart deals for predators, GOP Senate candidates are drowning in scandals and consumed by corruption. They’ve enriched themselves on the taxpayer’s dime, misled voters, and promoted extremists and abusers.

Indicted, investigated, and cashing in – GOP Senate candidates’ corruption and self-dealing:

• KEN PAXTON’s own party attempted to remove him from office for “bribery and abuse of office” and was investigated by the FBI over whether he was “using his office to benefit a wealthy donor.” 
• JON HUSTED: Played a key role in the FirstEnergy bribery scheme, the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio history, that delivered a billion-dollar bailout to utilities and raised Ohioans’ utility bills by $663 per year.
• MIKE COLLINS: Is currently facing a House ethics investigation after being accused of paying thousands of taxpayer dollars to a woman romantically linked to his Chief of Staff for an extended period while she held no real position and did no work for his office.
• MICHAEL WHATLEY: Has spent two decades cashing in as a corporate lobbyist for big oil and gas companies. As a lobbyist for utilities companies like Duke Energy, Whatley argued in favor of rate hikes on North Carolinians.
• KEN PAXTON: Was indicted and arrested on two counts of first-degree securities fraud in 2015, after allegedly convincing investors to lend more than $1 million in various companies without disclosing that it was boosting his own stock and earning him commission.
• SUSAN COLLINS: Has taken nearly half a million dollars from Big Pharma and later took “key votes that have benefited” the industry, including for the toxic GOP plan that ripped away health care just one day after a private equity billionaire funneled $2 million to her Super PAC. 
• JOHN E. SUNUNU: Worked for a “top lobbying firm that listed Pfizer, Gilead, Merck, Bayer, and Johnson & Johnson as clients, among others.” Sununu has attempted to hide his ties to Big Pharma, saying that “his only experience in the pharmaceutical industry was on the board of a small startup company.” 
• DAN SULLIVAN: Profited from holding significant stock in a multinational chemicals company, which paid a $65 million settlement for allegedly defrauding the federal government.
• ASHLEY HINSON: Repeatedly lied to Iowans about owning up to $5 million in insurance company stock while she campaigns to ban congressional stock trading.
• KEN PAXTON: Faces allegations of voter fraud – a second-degree felony in Texas – after it was reported that he appeared to have voted from his estranged wife’s home in multiple elections while residing in a different home in a different county with his mistress.
• MICHAEL WHATLEY: Repeatedly faced arrest for reckless driving, unpaid traffic tickets, and failing to appear in court.
• DAN SULLIVAN: Accepted campaign contributions from scandal-plagued executives for the highly unpopular Pebble Mine – then broke his 2020 pledge to give the donations to charity.
• SUSAN COLLINS: Opposes bipartisan legislation to ban Members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks. She has also repeatedly violated the STOCK Act.
• MIKE COLLINS: As the owner of a Georgia-based trucking company, has used his position as a member of Congress to push legislation that would directly impact the trucking industry and potentially benefit his financial interests. 
• MIKE ROGERS: Made a fortune walking through the revolving door, selling out Michiganders to get rich while advising big corporations and shady foreign interests on the issues he regulated in Congress.
• MIKE COLLINS: Was caught spending over $400,000 of taxpayer money intended for office expenses on campaign ads.
• JOHN E. SUNUNU: Has also financially benefited from sitting on the corporate boards of industries he helped regulate in the Senate. 
• JOHN E. SUNUNU: After leaving the Senate, John E. Sununu “quickly attained some high-paying jobs,” including sitting on a government “watchdog panel that oversees the financial sector rescue fund,” before he joined the board of a “firm affiliated with a bank that has received $3 billion from the fund.” 

GOP Senate candidates live large while Americans pay more: 

• DAN SULLIVAN: Used campaign funds to splurge over $1.5 million on bougie French cuisine and luxury golf resorts.
• SUSAN COLLINS: Has racked up thousands of dollars in luxury vacations with her former lobbyist husband, paid for by private special interests. 
• CINDY HYDE-SMITH: Spent campaign funds at luxury hotels and 5-star restaurants in Las Vegas.
• KEN PAXTON: Jetted off to Europe for a “summer getaway with his mistress” – spending America’s 250th birthday in London. 
• JON HUSTED: Was subpoenaed and forced to take the stand in the FirstEnergy corruption trial, where he refused to appear in person in court due to “the war,” but found time to get to Columbus for a swanky fundraiser where tickets went for as high as $1,000. 

GOP Senate candidates’ ties to Jeffrey Epstein, predators, and extremists:

• The Daily Beast reported, “Republicans heading into the 2026 Senate cycle are assembling a truly astonishing collection of candidates tied to underage sex scandals, abuse allegations, and Epstein-world baggage”
• KEN PAXTON: Gave an Epstein-style sweetheart deal to admitted child molester Adam Hoffman – who served just days and did not have to register as a sex offender under the deal.
• MICHAEL WHATLEY: As North Carolina Republican Party chair, Michael Whatley appointed Harvey Lee West, a convicted child sex predator, to leadership roles within the NCGOP, despite allegedly knowing about West’s conviction. He then allegedly killed a resolution to bar the party from holding events at venues owned by convicted felons, in direct response to concerns about West.
• JON HUSTED: Has been under fire for taking more than $116,000 directly from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files.
• MIKE COLLINS: Recent reporting exposed Mike Collins’ “close ties” to a neo-Nazi propagandist – his son-in-law. This comes after his second chief of staff was fired after being caught participating in a group chat with neo Nazis and white nationalists. 
• JON HUSTED: Has repeatedly faced scrutiny for enlisting top advisors with a disturbing pattern of sexual allegations – including enlisting Andrew Havas, who served jail time after committing sexual misconduct with a minor, as his campaign chair; proudly touted the endorsement of State Representative Rodney Creech, who has been accused of sexual misconduct involving a minor relative; and more.
• MIKE COLLINS: Faced outrage over his harassment of racial and religious minorities, including the antisemitic harassment of a Jewish reporter and praising a man who harassed a Black woman by making monkey sounds on a college campus. 
• JOHN E. SUNUNU: Is mentioned by name in emails from notorious child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who wrote that John Sununu “has good stories.” Reporting and photographic evidence revealed that Sununu gave a “false answer” in claiming that he had never been to Doha, Qatar, or attended the event referenced in Epstein’s emails. 
• ASHLEY HINSON: Has touted support from multiple members of her county leadership team with ties to far-right extremism, including an individual who defended the murder of abortion providers and claimed women working in government jobs are “sickening” and “perverse.”
• MIKE ROGERS: Is “facing questions” over his decision to appoint senior leaders to his campaign who were tied to a Michigan church rocked by a child sex abuse scandal.
• SUSAN COLLINS: Has accepted “tens of thousands in donations” from Epstein associates for her campaign, plus millions for super PACs and later “consistently voted” to block the release of the Epstein files. 
• DAN SULLIVAN: Recited the Declaration of Independence next to a Confederate flag at a church that has espoused extreme anti-LGBTQ views, including pushing to overturn a ban on conversion therapy. 

GOP Senate candidates are lying about who they are and where they’re actually from:

• MICHAEL WHATLEY: Has lied about growing up in western North Carolina, when he was actually born and raised in Michigan.
• MIKE ROGERS: Has repeatedly faced questions about his residency stemming from his Florida mansion and his lack of a consistent Michigan address. Rogers has continued to campaign from his Florida mansion while running for U.S. Senate and said earlier this year that he would rather be “on the beach in Florida” than spend time campaigning in Michigan.
• ASHLEY HINSON: Claimed to be a “working-class mom” who knows firsthand the struggles of parents affording lunch for their kids while her net worth increased by as much as $7 million since she started serving in the House of Representatives. 

GOP Senate candidates are creepy, cruel, and just plain weird:

• KEN PAXTON: Has been caught cheating on his wife with multiple women – using burner phones and an alias to conceal his affairs – leading to her decision to file for divorce “on biblical grounds.” 
• CINDY HYDE-SMITH: Said she would be “on the front row” if a supporter invited her to a “public hanging,” then dismissed criticism of the remark as “ridiculous.”