EXCLUSIVE — President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans could find a path to improving their standing ahead of the midterm elections by focusing on a handful of kitchen-table concerns, according to new polling shared with the Washington Examiner.
A national survey by the Tyson Group found broad support for policies aimed at lowering energy and grocery costs, preparing for flu season, regulating artificial intelligence, and protecting healthcare access for seniors, pointing to areas where Republicans could make inroads with voters before November.
“President Trump and Congress have a playbook in front of them,” the polling memo states. “Deliver on what voters actually care about before they head to the polls and the midterm math gets a lot more favorable.”
Energy topped the list of six policies tested, with 88% of likely general election voters saying expanding U.S. energy infrastructure to lower gas and electricity prices was important. Nearly 82% said ensuring flu shots are available, accessible, and affordable was a priority.
The healthcare findings cut across party lines. Eighty-seven percent of voters said it was important for federal health agencies to prepare for flu season in advance, while 78% supported the Trump administration moving quickly to approve updated flu and other respiratory shots.
The findings come the same week Trump signed an executive order overhauling federal childhood vaccine recommendations, including shifting the flu vaccine from a routine recommendation for all children to one based on shared decision-making between families and healthcare providers.
More than 85% of Republicans supported fast-tracking updated flu shot approvals, while 94% of Democrats and 86% of independents said federal health agencies should be prepared before flu season begins.
Similar sentiment showed up in separate swing-state surveys cited by the Tyson Group. Support for approving flu shots ahead of the season stood at 80% in Texas, 77% in New Hampshire, 76% in Ohio, 71% in Michigan and Florida, and 70% in Maine.
AI provided another possible opening. Nearly 73% of voters said standing up to China and establishing an American standard for how AI is regulated globally was important.
Previous Tyson Group polling cited in the memo found 72% of Americans supported government guardrails on AI, while 63% were concerned that adversarial countries such as China were developing the technology faster than the United States.
Cost-of-living concerns extended to the grocery aisle, where 71% supported creating a uniform national standard for ingredient labeling rather than maintaining a patchwork of different state requirements.
The Tyson Group argues that a national standard could prevent a 12% increase in grocery costs that it says could result from the state-by-state system.
Seniors were another area where the poll found broad agreement. Sixty-six percent said it was important to maintain access to knee and hip replacements amid debates over Medicare reimbursement cuts to providers. The Tyson Group argues the issue could carry particular political weight given the outsize role older voters play in elections.
The findings suggest Republicans have opportunities to strengthen their position by focusing on specific pocketbook and healthcare concerns as voters prepare to decide control of Congress.
TRUMP’S WINNING ISSUE THAT COULD GIVE REPUBLICANS A MIDTERM BOOST
“The research is clear: delivering on kitchen-table issues is how President Trump and Congressional Republicans build lasting credibility with voters,” the memo concludes.
The Tyson Group surveyed 817 likely general election voters nationwide from July 27-28 through an online opt-in panel. The results were weighted to the expected 2026 general election electorate and carry a margin of error of approximately 3.4 percentage points.