Asked what they blamed for rising gas prices, those voters pointed to “corrupt politicians” and “billionaires” — a response that surprised some longtime strategists who’ve never seen government corruption emerge as a top issue for so many Republican voters in congressional races, according to a person involved in the discussions.

Those observations in the reliably red farm belt are just one instance of a glaring pattern for Republicans, as their House battlefield expands into places like Kentucky, Wisconsin and Arkansas. Even some GOP lawmakers acknowledge their party needs to do a better job of making sure they’re responding to voters’ anger at what they see as a broken system of government — or risk losing them altogether.

And while many voters blame politicians on both sides of the aisle, some Republicans fear they could soon take out those frustrations on the ones in charge.

Republicans involved in House races from Texas to New York to Florida have privately acknowledged to CNN they’re troubled by flashes of anger particularly from working-class voters with kids, whose gas and grocery prices are skyrocketing. One GOP consultant working on congressional races described the theme of corruption as an “underappreciated fact” of this midterm, calling it a “two or three issue” in polling even in reliably red seats this cycle.

There are fears that Republicans could see a washout in parts of the country that are suffering the most from high fuel and grocery prices — where they worry many blue-collar workers are feeling ignored by the president who once pledged to drain the swamp and, instead, has made plans to build a ballroom in it with a price tag in the millions.