‘Communists and Islamists’ Are on the Ballot: GOP Congressman’s Warning on 2026

Republicans want to define the 2026 midterm elections by contrasting their own party with the growing number of far-left Democrats and socialists.

Rep. Riley Moore, a first-term Republican lawmaker from West Virginia, told the Daily Signal that will be key to mobilizing GOP turnout and keeping control of the House. Moore joined my “Midterm Report” podcast to share his outlook with less than seven weeks until Election Day.

“You have communists and Islamists running up and down the ballot here in the United States,” he said. “They want to pack the Supreme Court. Obviously, they don’t believe in this country as a republic. They don’t believe in our foundational documents.”

Moore, who represents West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, won his 2024 election with more than 70% of the vote. He said the stakes extend well beyond his own reliably Republican state.

‘People Are Pretty Freaked Out’

“I think people are pretty freaked out about what’s going to happen in this election,” Moore said.

While his reelection isn’t in doubt, several of his GOP colleagues are facing the prospect of losing to emboldened Democrats, who have the advantage of a nine-point lead on the generic ballot, voter enthusiasm, and historical precedent that’s not favorable to the president’s party during the midterms.

Moore, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee and previously served as West Virginia’s treasurer, entered politics after working as a welder. Those roots have helped him relate to his constituents. He spent the recent congressional work period visiting them.

“I think they’re really concerned about the potential of the Democrats taking the House and what that’s going to look like,” Moore said.

When he wasn’t home in West Virginia, Moore said he hit the road campaigning for Republican candidates around the country.

“We’re working hard,” he said. “I’ve been helping out a lot of candidates all over the country right now, and [we’ve] just got to keep our foot on the gas.”

The Affordability Fight

Asked about Democrats’ focus on the cost of living, Moore did not dispute that the issue resonates with voters.

“Cost of living is a real issue,” he said. “Cost of living is an issue in West Virginia, certainly, and it is around the rest of the country.”

But he traced the problem to pandemic-era spending under the Biden administration.

“They are the ones that pushed us over the debt cliff during COVID,” Moore said. “That’s them. That’s how we got here. That’s how we had hyperinflation going on.”

Moore pointed to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the House passed in 2025, as the GOP’s answer, while acknowledging the effects of the legislation will not arrive overnight.

“You’re not going to see it tomorrow, and you’re probably not going to see it in 49 days from now,” he said, referring to Election Day. “But it is something that is going to fundamentally change lives and make them better here in the country.”

Tariffs and the American Worker

Moore praised President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance for putting the American worker at the center of their administration. He also defended the Trump administration’s policy on tariffs, which he acknowledged had drawn skepticism in Washington from traditional Republicans.

“Balancing trade and reshoring jobs is going to fundamentally change the outcome for the American worker in this country,” he said. “That is a fact.”

Moore argued that recent jobs reports show a shift away from growth concentrated in government and health care.

“You think about what was the most productive time in American history—when were we the most economically prosperous and dominant in the world? It was post-World War II,” Moore said. “We represented a significant sum of the world’s GDP because we were making things.”

To critics who say the clock cannot be turned back for a resurgence in manufacturing, Moore said: “Of course you can. These are policy decisions. We’re not just on some continuum that we can’t get off or turn around.”

The Debt and the Family

Looking to the next Congress, Moore named two priorities: the national debt and family policy.

“It is a nuclear bomb hanging over our head,” he said of the debt. “We are now paying well over a trillion dollars a year just in interest. It is larger than the defense budget of the United States.”

He said he wants another reconciliation bill aimed at the drivers of that debt.

Moore also called for policy that puts families “back at the center” of federal decision-making.

“We shouldn’t be making it more difficult to be married,” he said. “We incentivize single motherhood for some reason in this country. We should be rewarding families that are staying together and working hard and contributing to their communities, not punishing them.”

Faith in Public Life

Moore, who is outspoken about his Catholic faith, said prayer shapes his approach to the job. Prior to his Daily Signal interview, Moore joined Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts at an event on the topic of faith, family, and work.

“You need to pray, and I do, that I can discern God’s will in my life,” he said. “If I’m here just trying to implement my own will, this is how we get in trouble. This is where the socialists are. These godless socialists—they’re going to fix it. You don’t need God, you’ve got government. No, I don’t think so.”

He pushed back on the idea that public officials should keep faith out of governing.

“Separation of church and state is not in the United States Constitution,” Moore said. “That letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote about separation of church and state was about keeping the government out of churches. It wasn’t about public officials checking their faith at the door.”

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