WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Less than a week after the struck down President global tariffs, New York Gov. listened as one of the plaintiffs in the case recounted the financial toll of the levies on his wine importing business.
鈥淭his is a heavy tax and you have to pay it up front,鈥� Victor Schwartz, the owner of VOS Selections, told Hochul as they walked alongside bottles of wine he imports from 16 countries.
As Hochul this year, she says the impact of Trump’s tariffs is a 鈥渃enterpiece鈥� of her message. She has pressed the administration to issue a $13.5 billion tariff refund to New Yorkers following the Supreme Court decision. And she released an ad this week criticizing her Republican challenger, , for supporting the levies and attending the where Trump unveiled them with a massive board listing the rate for each country.
鈥淭his is a lethal issue for Republicans this November,鈥� Hochul said in an interview. 鈥淵ou can be sure we’re going to make sure people know who did this to them.鈥�
She’s not alone. Democrats running for governor across the country are making tariffs central to their pitch to voters. They’re betting that in an election year dominated by issues ranging from to the , rising costs connected to the tariffs will be a motivating issue for many voters.
鈥淭hat picture of (Trump) with the tariff board is going to be front and center in every single one of our campaigns,鈥� Gov. of Kentucky, who is leading the Democratic Governors Association this year, said in an interview.
White House spokesman Kush Desai countered that 鈥渨hat Democrats are really running against are President Trump鈥檚 Most-Favored-Nations deals to slash prescription drug prices by up to 90 percent, trillions in investments to bring manufacturing back to America, and new trade deals that level the playing field for American workers.鈥�
鈥淎ll of these historic victories were possible because of tariffs.鈥�
This is a challenging election year for the GOP
Republicans are entering a challenging election year as they contend with voter anxiety around spiking prices 鈥� an issue Trump pledged to fix during his 2024 campaign 鈥� and the record of a president’s party losing ground during the midterms.
Much of the focus has been on Congress, where Democrats are just a few seats shy of taking the House majority. But the party is also aiming to regain ground outside Washington as they hope to hold onto governorships in Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin and eye GOP-held seats in Nevada, Georgia and Iowa.
In interviews this week, Democrats running in some of those states said tariffs and the broader issue of affordability will be at the forefront of their agenda.
In Nevada, state Attorney General Aaron Ford sued the administration over its initial round of tariffs and is suing again as Trump seeks to revive them. As he seeks the Democratic nomination to take on Republican incumbent Gov. , Ford called the tariffs 鈥渋llegal鈥� and blamed them for restaurant closures and fewer visitors to his tourism-dependent state.
鈥淭ariffs are at the very top of the conversation because Nevadans every single day are feeling the impacts,鈥� Ford said.
In , Democratic Gov. is seeking reelection in a state Trump won by more than 5 percentage points in 2024 with a focus on costs. She criticized GOP Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, who are vying for the nomination to challenge her, for 鈥渃heering on these reckless tariffs.鈥� Both lawmakers a measure last month to end the national emergency Trump declared to impose tariffs on Canada.
Hobbs said the cost concern was about more than tariffs, noting Medicaid cuts, rising health costs and a spike in gas prices in the wake of the war in Iran.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e being hit everywhere,鈥� she said.
Republicans try to turn affordability concerns back on Democrats
Republicans largely reject the tariff criticism and are trying to turn the anxiety about affordability back on Democrats, especially in high-cost states where they already govern. Blakeman, for instance, said in a statement that Hochul is 鈥渟olely responsible for the affordability crisis in New York, with crushing electric bills, soaring insurance rates and the highest taxes in America.鈥�
In an interview, Schweikert argued that 鈥渋t was only a few years ago in a previous administration that the Democrats actually liked tariffs. So this seems to be if Trump’s for it, they’re against it.鈥�
Trump, for his part, hasn鈥檛 given up on the tariffs. After calling the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision 鈥� ,鈥� his administration is scrambling to find ways to revive the levies. The president has already announced a 10% tariff using a different mechanism, a move that鈥檚 facing legal challenges, and wants to further raise tariffs to 15%.
But Trump鈥檚 prediction of a manufacturing renaissance that would result from companies making more products in the U.S. to avoid tariffs has . During the first year of his second term, 98,000 manufacturing jobs were lost. Revenue from tariffs is doing little to reduce the federal deficit, which is projected to climb over the next decade.
Polling suggests unease about the dramatic way Trump has imposed the levies. In January, before the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults said Trump went too far in imposing new tariffs and using presidential power, an found.
A balancing act for the GOP
Now Republicans are trying to balance acknowledging the public’s concern without antagonizing Trump, who remains popular among the GOP base.
Lombardo’s response to a question about tariffs last year in a local television interview has given Democrats persistent fodder. The governor said, 鈥淲e need to maybe feel a little pain in the short term and hopefully in the long term it鈥檚 a huge benefit for us.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e feeling it,鈥� Ford said of the pain, 鈥渁nd Nevadans are ready for new leadership.鈥�
In a statement, Drew Galang, Lombardo鈥檚 communications director, said that 鈥渨hile the governor cannot control federal trade policy, he has prioritized policies to drive growth in Nevada 鈥� diversifying the state鈥檚 economy, cutting red tape, and attracting billions of dollars of business investments.鈥�
The competing pressure on Lombardo was on display in a he sent to Trump last year, urging the president to lift tariffs on lithium. He argued that since 鈥渄omestic processing is not yet a viable option, the current environment poses a serious risk to jobs in Nevada and across the country.鈥�
But he didn鈥檛 reject Trump鈥檚 overall tariff push, expressing 鈥渟incere appreciation for your efforts to return manufacturing jobs back to United States soil.鈥�
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Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.
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