President Donald Trump is being deployed to deep red states to shore up Republican candidates who, in a normal year, would be waltzing to reelection — and it's his own unpopularity dragging them down.
Bastions of conservatism including Alabama, Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas now need Trump's star power to turn out his most die-hard supporters, Politico reported. But every trip spent playing defense in red strongholds is one the GOP can't spend putting Democrats "on the back foot" in traditionally competitive states.
"The problem is that the fires are everywhere right now," said one GOP donor granted anonymity told Politico.
According to the report, "Trump’s upcoming travel — including to Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio this week — puts a focus on what Republican donors and operatives have feared for months: that even a gerrymandered House map and whopping cash advantage won’t be enough to save the House or Senate from Democrats."
Concern inside the White House is especially high over Alaska and Ohio — states Trump won handily in 2024. In Alaska's nonpartisan primary, Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan trailed Democrat Mary Peltola by roughly 8 points, prompting Trump to plan a trip there to shore him up.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, 10," a person close to the White House said of the alarm, citing Alaska's primary results and Ohio nominee Jon Husted "proving not to be a compelling candidate."
A GOP operative working multiple races didn't mince words about who's to blame, telling Politico, " [Trump] definitely is the biggest culprit because of how much the trade war has affected the farmers and the Iran war has affected the farmers and rural people. It's his fault."
A former Trump official added: "The expanded map reflects the fact that very little has gone right economically for the last 18 months. Now they are scrambling to stop the bleeding."
Vice President JD Vance is also stretched thin, campaigning this week in Texas and Florida after recent stops for Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas and Iowa's Zach Lahn — where Senate candidate Ashley Hinson notably skipped the event.
"F-----g Vance was in Kansas … not a good sign," a Texas-based GOP consultant said. "We're on defense everywhere. The map's expanding for [Democrats], and there's a limit to what the administration can do."