With the Republican-dominated Congress about to send President Donald Trump a budget bill for his signature that will severely impact people living in rural communities, combined with Trump tariffs that are already hitting consumers in their pocketbooks, GOP lawmakers are nervously eying the 2026 midterms.
And according to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) may have a re-election problem of her own to worry about.
During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe,' Hochul noted that Stefanik — a dyed-in-the-wool Trump backer — represents an upstate New York district that will not only be hurt by revenue cuts in the budget bill, but is already reeling from the president's economic war with neighboring Canada.
"So, governor, you mentioned President Trump's tariff policy, let's also turn to the so-called one big beautiful bill now law of the land, and talk to us about the way the budget cuts, you know, are going to impact New York state, particularly," host Jonathn Lemire prompted his guest before asking noting, "There are a lot of rural areas, and i know there's real concern about both Medicaid and rural health care."
'Absolutely, " she agreed. "I was just up in Elise Stefanik's district in the north country, which is getting hammered. First of all, the tariffs, because the Canadians are not coming over, they're not spending money in the hotels and restaurants, the tourism economy is suffering."
"Then you have the farm community, the farmers, Republican farmers don't know why their own elected officials voted against their interests with higher costs because of tariff closing out markets to them that they had always counted on the cost of even steel, or the shavings that go in the stalls for their cows is more expensive because they got it from Canada," she elaborated. "So you have all that, but then to tell them that you are at risk of losing five of your rural hospitals in this one congressional district? That is real."
"I had a forum up there," she told the hosts. "I had 400 people, standing room only, farmers, people in tourism, the small businesses, people in health care, hospitals. They're in a panic."
"And this is what I want to point out: all across the state, seven members of the Republican Party elected in this state voted against the interests of their own constituents. How do you do that and think you're going to get away with it?" she asked. "Oh, you'll push back the pain till 2027? Guess what? We're going to remind everybody what you did to them and it's going to have an effect on your 2026 election."
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