Republicans fear they have little to offer voters as Congress leaves town

Republicans preparing to trade the halls of Congress for the campaign trail ahead of the midterm elections lament they have few achievements to tout as higher gas prices from the Iran war and voters’ affordability concerns drag them down.

The House left town a day early this week and won’t return until after the Nov. 3 elections. The Senate has two more weeks until it departs but is prioritizing a bipartisan college sports bill to create standards on, among other things, how athletes are paid.