DAVID MARCUS: On the ground in Middle America, four issues will decide the senate, and none are affordability

For nearly a year now, the assumption from the chattering classes has been that the 2026 midterm election will be decided on the issue of affordability, but on the ground, in the mid-American states that will decide control of the senate, it is local issues that dominate, not the vague, overarching question of prices.

Part of the problem with nationalizing the affordability issue is that it originated in New York City with the campaign of current socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani. But Gotham is a unique case that is always very expensive.