# Kelly: Democrats must deliver to win midterms

> Sen. Mark Kelly says Democrats need to pass legislation and show results if they want to control Congress after November's elections.
- Title: Kelly: Democrats must deliver to win midterms · ABC News
- Summary: Sen. Mark Kelly says Democrats need to pass legislation and show results if they want to control Congress after November's elections. Sen. Mark Kelly told…
- Keywords: mark kelly, democrats, midterm elections, november 2026, congress, iran war, tariffs, artificial intelligence, trump administration, news, Kelly, must
- Source: ABC News — https://abcnews.com/Politics/sen-mark-kelly-democrats-job-good-midterm-showing/story?id=136794739
- Author: ABC News
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: mark kelly, democrats, midterm elections, november 2026, congress, iran war, tariffs, artificial intelligence, trump administration, news
## Kelly: Democrats must do better
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., told ABC News on Sunday that Democrats need to do a better job if they want to win control of Congress in November's midterm elections.
## Kelly's recipe for winning
Kelly said Democrats must have answers, pass legislation, and send it to the president's desk, hoping he will sign it if it benefits the American people.

> I think we have to have answers. We have to have, we have to pass legislation. We have to send it to the president's desk.
## Cook predicts Democratic wins
Charlie Cook, founder of the Cook Political Report, predicted on ABC's This Week that Democrats would win both the House of Representatives and the Senate in November.
## Anti-Trump, not pro-Democrat
Cook said the Democratic advantage is not a blue wave but a red undertow, driven by voters rejecting Trump and Republicans he has supported, not by enthusiasm for Democrats.

> It's anti-Trump basically, and Republicans that have been supported by the president.
## War and tariffs driving voters
Kelly cited the war with Iran and Trump-caused tariffs as major factors pushing Americans toward Democrats, saying families cannot afford their lives and nothing else matters when feeding children is hard.

> War and tariffs caused by Donald Trump and enabled by the Republicans in the United States Congress are just killing the American people.
## Trump rejects Iran's strait deal
Iran's president proposed a seven-day plan at the United Nations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which the war has severely limited, spiking oil prices. President Trump rejected the deal on Saturday.

> Well, I'm rejecting their deal. They want to make a deal where we open the Strait immediately because they're losing so badly.
## Kelly: War was a strategic failure
Kelly said Trump entered the war without a strategic goal, plan, timeline or exit strategy and is now stuck. Before the war, the straits were open and there were no dead and wounded service members.

> This thing has been a disaster and it's been a mistake, and it's because of the failed leadership of this president.
## AI needs guardrails, Kelly warns
Kelly criticized Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week in Washington, saying they only agreed to set up a working group on AI, not a serious agreement on regulating the technology's rapid development.

> There's safety concerns about this, and the White House, specifically the president, doesn't seem to think we should put any guardrails in place.
## Key takeaway

Sen. Mark Kelly told ABC News that Democrats must pass legislation and send it to the president's desk to win control of Congress in November's midterm elections.