Democrats and Republicans are treating Trump’s tariff fight as a governor-race test of who can best explain rising costs after the Supreme Court struck down the administration’s global tariffs, with Democratic candidates leaning hard on the issue as a campaign centerpiece. In New York, Hochul discussed the tariff impact days after the ruling, including during a visit in which Victor Schwartz, the owner of VOS Selections, described how tariff requirements affected his wine importing business.
“This is a heavy tax and you have to pay it up front,” Schwartz told Hochul as they walked alongside bottles of wine he imports from 16 countries, according to the account described in interviews and campaign messaging. Hochul, seeking reelection this year, said the tariffs’ impact would be part of how she frames the election for voters. She also said 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, Bruce Blakeman, for supporting the levies and for attending a White House event where Trump unveiled them alongside a board listing rates by country.
Hochul said in an interview that “This is a lethal issue for Republicans this November,” adding that “You can be sure we’re going to make sure people know who did this to them.” The AP report described her remarks as part of a broader Democratic effort to make tariffs and affordability a central line of attack during an election year that also includes focus on issues ranging from immigration to the war in Iran.
The Democratic push is extending beyond New York. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, who is leading the Democratic Governors Association this year, said in an interview that “That picture of (Trump) with the tariff board is going to be front and center in every single one of our campaigns.” AP reported that other Democrats in states where governorships are on the ballot are treating tariff costs and related affordability pressures as among the top issues in their agendas.
In Nevada, Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford sued the administration over the initial round of tariffs and is suing again as Trump seeks to revive the levies, the AP said. Ford called the tariffs “illegal” and blamed them for restaurant closures and fewer visitors to the tourism-dependent state. “Tariffs are at the very top of the conversation because Nevadans every single day are feeling the impacts,” Ford said.
In Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, seeking reelection in a state Trump won by more than 5 percentage points in 2024, said costs should define the political message. She criticized Republican lawmakers Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, who are vying for the nomination to challenge her, for “cheering on these reckless tariffs,” and said both voted against a measure last month to end the national emergency Trump declared to impose tariffs on Canada. Hobbs said the cost concerns extend beyond tariffs, citing Medicaid cuts, rising health costs and a spike in gas prices after the war in Iran, and she added, “They’re being hit everywhere.”
Republicans, in turn, are working to recast the affordability debate away from tariffs and toward Democratic governance in states they control, AP reported. In New York, Blakeman said in a statement that Hochul is “solely responsible for the affordability crisis in New York, with crushing electric bills, soaring insurance rates and the highest taxes in America.” Schweikert argued in an interview that Democrats’ stance on tariffs is politically inconsistent, saying “it 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.”
Behind the campaign messaging, the White House is also disputing the premise that tariffs are a liability for voters. Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said Democrats are “really running against” Trump’s Most-Favored-Nations deals he said are aimed at slashing prescription drug prices by up to 90 percent, “trillions in investments” to bring manufacturing back to America, and new trade deals that he said would “level the playing field for American workers.” AP reported that Desai added: “All of these historic victories were possible because of tariffs.”
The political contest is also unfolding with Republicans trying to respond to public anxiety about costs while avoiding direct conflict with Trump, who remains popular among the GOP base, the AP said. Trump has continued seeking ways to revive tariff measures after the Supreme Court decision, including announcing a 10% tariff using a different mechanism that faces legal challenges and saying he wants to raise tariffs further to 15%. The AP report said Democrats’ campaign advantage rests on the argument that tariff-driven costs are already being felt by households and businesses.
For Republicans, the AP described balancing the acknowledgment of voters’ affordability concerns with the need to avoid antagonizing Trump. In Nevada, Ford said voters were already experiencing “the pain” from the tariffs, and he said Nevadans were ready for new leadership, while Lombardo’s communications director, Drew Galang, said in a statement that the governor cannot control federal trade policy. Galang said Lombardo has prioritized state policies to drive growth in Nevada, including diversifying the state’s economy, cutting red tape, and attracting billions of dollars in business investments, according to the AP account.