# How both parties twisted facts in 2026 midterms > FactCheck.org tracked false claims and distortions across major campaign themes as Democrats and Republicans battled for control of Congress. - Title: How both parties twisted facts in 2026 midterms | Shortify - Summary: FactCheck.org tracked false claims and distortions across major campaign themes as Democrats and Republicans battled for control of Congress. FactCheck.org… - Keywords: 2026 midterm elections, fact-checking, campaign advertising, inflation, transgender issues, epstein files, tax policy, data centers, medicare, social security, rural healthcare, immigration - Source: FactCheck.org — https://factcheck.org/2026/11/common-themes-in-the-2026-midterms - Read time: 4 min - Topics: 2026 midterm elections, fact-checking, campaign advertising, inflation, transgender issues, epstein files, tax policy, data centers, medicare, social security, rural healthcare, immigration ## Inflation and gas prices return With annualized inflation at three point seven percent and gasoline prices at four dollars twenty-seven per gallon the week of October twenty-sixth, inflation and gas prices are again central to midterm elections, with party roles… ## Democrats attack Republicans on inflation Democratic ads blame the war in Iran and Republicans' support for it. But a North Carolina ad by Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper used an out-of-date quote from Republican opponent Michael Whatley to portray him… ## Trump twists inflation facts While not on the ballot technically, Trump has repeatedly twisted the facts on inflation and gasoline prices while stumping for Republican candidates in the run-up to the midterm elections. ## Transgender surgeries dominate ads Since Labor Day, one hundred sixty-two million dollars has been spent on more than two hundred sixty ads containing the words sex change, with ninety-one point five million spent in federal Senate races alone, according… ## Republicans distort transgender care claims Republicans claimed Democratic opponents support sex changes for children or taxpayer funding of surgeries. But ads citing politicians' votes against measures went beyond prohibiting surgeries, including medications like puberty blockers and hormone therapy. ## Texas ad misrepresents Talarico vote Ads in Texas cited Democrat James Talarico's two thousand twenty-three vote against state legislation that broadly prohibited gender-affirming care for kids. > overly broad ## Epstein files become campaign weapon More than three hundred fifty different TV ads mentioning Jeffrey Epstein have been aired since Labor Day from both sides, according to AdImpact. Democratic-aligned groups claimed Republican candidates voted against releasing the Epstein files. ## Epstein ads mislead on Senate votes Ads in Alaska, Kansas and Maine misleadingly claimed Republican Senators Dan Sullivan, Roger Marshall and Susan Collins voted to cover up the Epstein files. ## Both sides link opponents to Epstein Ads from both sides attempted to link opponents to Epstein through political donations made by alleged Epstein associates. But the associates were not charged with crimes, and most had tangential associations to Epstein. ## Republicans tout One Big Beautiful Bill In hundreds of ads, Republican candidates and supporting PACs touted tax cuts for tips, overtime and older Americans that were part of Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by Trump on July… ## Democrats opposed bill for other reasons Not a single Democrat in either the House or Senate voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. ## Data centers and electricity prices Data centers don't necessarily lead to higher electricity prices, as many ads claim. Energy economist Jacquelyn Pless at the University of Toronto said data centers can put either upward or downward pressure on electricity prices… > Data centers can put either upward or downward pressure on electricity prices ## Medicare claims are exaggerated Democratic ads in Wisconsin, Ohio and New York accused Republican candidates of gutting Medicare or voting for huge cuts to Medicare related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. ## Rural healthcare funding cuts obscured Republican ads touted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's fifty billion dollar rural healthcare fund.But the law's cuts to Medicaid are expected to result in rural areas getting much less healthcare funding overall. ## Trump conflates democratic socialists with communists At the first Republican midterm convention in September, Trump repeatedly invoked fear of communism, saying if Democrats control Congress it would be run by crazed democratic socialists who are really communists. > crazed ## Few democratic socialists in Congress There are few democratic socialists already in Congress.Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are two well-known Democratic Socialists of America members. ## Immigration ads make false crime links In Ohio, a Republican ad blamed former Senator Sherrod Brown for a deadly April crash on an Ohio interstate in which an immigrant was charged with vehicular homicide. ## Alaska ad misrepresents Peltola's record In Alaska, an ad from Senator Sullivan featured a mother whose twenty-two-year-old son died from fentanyl, claiming Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola took contributions from liberals who opened borders to drug cartels. ## Key takeaway FactCheck.org found both parties distorted facts on inflation, transgender issues, the Epstein files, tax cuts, data centers, Medicare, rural healthcare, communism, and immigration during the 2026 midterm elections.