Republicans turn to Islamophobia amid 2026 midterm slump: Report

Republican leaders and candidates are increasingly making Muslims and Islam a central target in their campaigns ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, a strategy experts describe as a calculated attempt to distract voters from the party's struggling economic record and the unpopular US-Israeli war on Iran.

According to a report by Reuters, anti-Islamic rhetoric has intensified across key battlegrounds as the GOP attempts to mobilize its base.

Vice President JD Vance recently labeled Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim Democrat running for the US Senate in Michigan, as "very, very evil" over comments he made following an attack on a Detroit-area synagogue.

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has attacked proposed Muslim-led real estate developments and called for investigations into what he baselessly described as efforts to create "sharia courts."

Meanwhile, in Alabama, Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor, warned voters that "the enemy is inside the gates," referring to radical Islam.

A strategy of distraction

Political analysts suggest this surge in Islamophobia is a deliberate political pivot.

With President Donald Trump’s approval rating languishing around 33%, and the public deeply concerned over the high cost of living, crushing tariffs, and the war of aggression on Iran, Republicans are struggling to gain traction on core domestic and foreign policy issues.

"If you can wrap yourself in the flag and you can criticize Muslims and Islam, that means you don't really have to deal with the issues," Aaron Hughes, a religious studies professor at the University of Rochester, told Reuters.

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He described the tactic as "fear-mongering" that unfairly conflates a diverse American community with foreign adversaries like Iran and Hamas.

The manufactured panic mirrors previous Republican culture-war distractions, such as the baseless claims spread by Trump and his allies two years ago regarding Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.

Targeting a growing demographic

The attacks come despite the growing political integration and demographic footprint of American Muslims, who now number roughly 5.5 million, or 1.6% of the US population.

The community has recently achieved significant political milestones, including the election of Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s first Muslim mayor last year, and Ghazala Hashmi becoming the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office in Virginia.

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El-Sayed, the only Muslim running for statewide office in the country, has become a primary focal point for the GOP's attacks. Responding to Vance's criticisms, El-Sayed redefined the term, stating: "Evil is ripping healthcare away from working people in exchange for tax breaks for billionaires. Evil is making people pay more for groceries and gas while pushing for trade wars and actual war."

While the GOP leans heavily into this rhetoric, experts note the irony that the strategy ignores the fact that many American Muslims hold socially conservative views on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage that traditionally dovetail with Republican orthodoxy.

Furthermore, civil rights advocates warn that the rhetoric extends beyond the campaign trail, citing Abbott's recent push for a federal probe into Islamic ritual washing facilities at Texas airports, a move local officials dismissed as discriminatory, noting the facilities are open to travelers of all faiths.

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