Republican candidates are increasingly putting distance between themselves and President Donald Trump as the midterms approach, according to a conservative columnist who says they can see the trouble ahead.
In a National Review column titled “The Republican Abandonment of Donald Trump Begins,” editor Jim Geraghty pointed to troubling numbers and a growing list of GOP candidates distancing themselves from the president.
“Whether or not you believe the current public polls suggesting GOP doom accurately represent the mood of the electorate,” he told readers, “Republicans who want to win in November are acting like their internal polling matches those public polls.”
Among his examples: Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds and Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) removing references to Trump from their campaign websites. Michigan's GOP Senate nominee, Mike Rogers, meanwhile, opened an ad with a call to end the Iran war to bring costs down.
Geraghty also noted in his analysis Wednesday two Iowa Republicans who voted to limit Trump’s war powers and highlighted comments from Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), who is running for the Senate, criticizing the war and high gas prices.
"Again, you don’t have to believe the public polling," Geraghty wrote. "Just watch the behavior of Republicans running."
He took aim at Trump’s campaign message, too. The conservative columnist said the president made the Republican midterm convention “all about him,” and spent part of his endorsement of MAGA favorite Ken Paxton criticizing the Texas Senate candidate's speech and appearance.
His assessment of where that leaves GOP candidates ahead of the crucial midterm elections was blunt: “Republicans running in 2026 have concluded they’re on their own.”