Republicans return to tough-on-crime message ahead of difficult midterm elections

Reported by ABC News. The paragraphs below are the opening of that article, reproduced word for word — not a summary, and not the whole piece.

Republicans are focusing on crime and public disorder in midterm election campaigns, as voters grow frustrated with their handling of the cost of living and the war with Iran

WASHINGTON -- Political advertising warns about Democratic plots to defund the police. Campaign events feature law enforcement unions and tough talk about law and order. Stump speeches boast about record low levels of violent crime .

From coast to coast, Republicans are focusing on public disorder, illegal immigration and violent crime in midterm campaigns as voters sour on their party's handling of the cost of living and the war with Iran.

The messaging reflects a belief that lawlessness is safer political ground in the midterms despite Donald Trump's own criminal record for paying hush money to a porn star, making him the only president to be convicted of a felony. Democrats have tried to counter the attacks by recruiting candidates with law enforcement backgrounds and emphasizing their own anti-crime plans, but Republicans believe it's a rare opportunity to go on the offensive in an otherwise challenging year.

“Do you know that right now we have the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years in America right now? Because we emphasize the rule of law,” House Speaker Mike Johnson recently told an audience at Louisiana State University. Crime rates have generally trended down since the 1990s with a brief spike during the COVID pandemic. “We have the most secure border we have had in the past half century."

Trump returned to the topic on Monday night in Nebraska , warning about how the country used to be before he returned to the White House.