Republicans can reclaim the moral high ground by fighting Alzheimer’s

Democrats swept the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races this year, but Republicans still hold a powerful advantage heading into 2026 — if they act on it. A neglected issue offers the clearest path to victory: Alzheimer’s.

New polling from President Trump’s pollster, Tony Fabrizio, shows Republican candidates can flip a three-point deficit into a 19-point lead in battleground districts by making Alzheimer’s prevention a core campaign priority. Voters across the political spectrum want leadership on this issue, and they want it now.

The GOP could deliver real hope to millions of Americans living under the shadow of this devastating disease.

This month’s special election in Texas underscored the opening. Nearly 70% of voters backed the creation of a $3 billion state dementia institute aimed at fighting Alzheimer’s and related diseases.

More than 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s today. Without major intervention, that number could approach 13 million by 2050. According to Fabrizio’s polling, roughly 40% of swing voters have a friend or family member touched by the disease. They watch loved ones lose memory, judgment, and recognition. They want answers.

The Trump administration began delivering those answers by advancing prevention strategies, promoting healthier lifestyles, and approving a slate of new treatments. But Biden-era bureaucracy still blocks patients from accessing key interventions. To win the war on Alzheimer’s — and win the midterms — Republicans must focus on prevention, early detection, and clearing bureaucratic roadblocks that keep families from getting care.

Prevention first

Lifestyle interventions already show strong promise in delaying cognitive decline. A recent clinical trial linked physical activity and nutritional improvements with measurable cognitive gains in older adults. A study released this week found that patients in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s who walked 3,000 to 5,000 steps each day delayed decline by roughly three years. Those who reached 5,000 to 7,000 steps delayed it by an average of seven.

Nutrition matters as well. The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet continues to show potential for reducing Alzheimer’s risk and improving long-term brain health.

Early detection matters

In May, the Food and Drug Administration approved the nation’s first blood test capable of detecting Alzheimer’s with more than 90% accuracy. Families can now identify the disease years before symptoms appear. Americans want that chance: Nearly four in five say they would want to know early if they carried the disease.

President Trump can take a decisive step by ordering Medicare to cover diagnostic testing for roughly 70 million Americans. That move would align regulation with scientific innovation and expand access to tools families desperately need. Voters support it overwhelmingly. Roughly 80% believe early detection and prevention would save taxpayers billions, and nearly 90% support requiring Medicare coverage for diagnostic blood tests.

RELATED: America can’t call itself great if it forgets its caregivers

PeopleImages via iStock/Getty Images

Patients need access

Two FDA-approved breakthrough therapies slow Alzheimer’s progression by removing toxic proteins from the brain. The Biden administration undermined the FDA’s scientific judgment by imposing extra paperwork and restrictions that make the treatments harder to prescribe. Smaller medical practices often lack the staff to navigate the added burdens. Family caregivers, often juggling work and children, fare no better. Paperwork doesn’t protect patients. It blocks them from life-changing care.

Republicans should demand that Medicare remove these barriers. Voters already agree. Fabrizio’s polling shows 92% support updating Medicare rules to make FDA-approved treatments easier to access.

Alzheimer’s stands as a national crisis demanding moral clarity, compassion, and decisive policy leadership. Republicans can offer that leadership. If they do, the 2026 midterms could deliver more than a red wave. They could deliver real hope to millions of Americans living under the shadow of this devastating disease.