Crime and safety are what count in battleground states

On Tuesday, voters will head to the polls to decide more than just the midterm federal elections. In over 30 states, there are attorney general races that will decide far more than just the control of congressional gridlock.One thing is clear in the over 100 polls I have seen since Labor Day: people do not like crime or socialism. When races focus on federal issues, we lose momentum. When we focus on making our communities safer, Republicans gain momentum.This is a large reason why historically Republican attorney general candidates outperform the top of the ticket by at least 3 points — the equivalent of what Vegas yields for home-field advantage in a college football game. The reason why is not new. It is rooted in something most political nerds learned in high school civics or freshman political science classes, if you recall the CliffsNotes of Plato’s The Republic.Plato surmised basic man gave up basic freedom for basic security. The generalization is why voters have preferred Republican attorney general candidates regardless of political winds for decades.The only states where I have seen Democrats outperform Republicans in attorney general races are the ones where Democratic candidates are trying to wear a Republican Halloween mask to trick voters into believing they are neither political nor soft on crime.In some states, such as Michigan and Minnesota, I have seen Republicans outperform the top of the ticket by more than 7 points because of abysmal records on various forms of fraud, waste, and letting violent criminals harm women and children.In Michigan, the Democratic candidate for attorney general is an unabashed Soviet-style socialist who took his honeymoon to Moscow and has allowed violent criminals, including those who would make Freddy Krueger blush, out on get out of jail free cards while murders in his liberal community skyrocketed 300%.In Minnesota, the Democratic attorney general is the poster child for radical left-wing policies from helping Somali fraudsters to going silent as Somali gangs shoot up churches and schools.In New York, a Republican upstart is giving a well-heeled political creature of an attorney general a run for her money in a state where no one gave Republicans a chance just four weeks ago before a turning point of a debate.The entire absurdity of the liberal no-cash-bail movement and Democrats’ need to build trust with violent criminals will hopefully be the Achilles’ heel for Democratic attorney general candidates this November.In 2026, the contrast between radically soft-on-crime Democratic attorneys general and commonsense Republican attorney general opponents is likely worth a similar margin as public safety transcends other polling numbers and analytics. Recommended Stories While most expect severe headwinds for Republicans on Tuesday, public safety conundrums for Democrats make those winds more wind shear moving left to right in attorney general races. My hope is that by spending over $37 million nationally, we have reminded voters that safety and security are on the ballot on Nov. 3. MARK TEIXEIRA ENDORSES GOP RIVAL TO LETITIA JAMESOur biggest challenge is our races are down ballot and subject to downstream effects of the top of the ticket. Last year in Virginia, we outperformed the top of the ticket by nearly 10 points and still fell short. This year, I hope we have done enough to highlight the importance of public safety as it is the one issue that can unite both the mahjong mom and the Waffle House waitress.There is an old saying in Washington: money talks and bulls*** walks. If you follow the money, more funding is flooding into attorney general races than ever because these posts are no longer downballot afterthoughts, but for Republicans both freedom’s front line and our last line of defense as it relates to economic freedom, public safety, and having the safest places to live, work, and raise a family.Adam Piper is the executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association.