'Unlike anything we've ever seen': GOP touts 'hidden advantage' from Dems' 'huge mistake'

On Monday morning, Republicans told donors they’d found a “hidden advantage” in a blue state. By the afternoon, President Donald Trump was warning that the only way his party could lose there is if Democrats cheat.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee sent a fundraising email titled “Democrats just made a huge mistake.” It complained that “the Democrat media” is “sponsoring poll after poll” showing Republicans losing in Texas, and accused outlets of “gushing” over Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico’s fundraising.

“While 2026 is no doubt going to be a tight election – even in ruby-red Texas – Republicans have a hidden advantage that Democrats are completely overlooking,” the email read.

That advantage, according to the NRSC, is that Democrats “have let their guard down elsewhere, and Republicans are SURGING in historically blue states!”

“For example, our Senate nominee in Minnesota, Michele Tafoya, is statically TIED with her Democrat opponent right now!” the email claimed, apparently meaning “statistically.” It didn’t cite a specific poll.

“The 2026 map is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before,” the email added. It then urged readers to fill out a “Voter Verification Questionnaire,” which leads to a donation page.

Hours later, Trump posted his own pitch for Tafoya, a former NBC and Fox sportscaster, on Truth Social.

“Let’s all get behind Michele Tafoya in Minnesota. She’s running a great race,” Trump wrote. “Don’t allow them to play with the Votes after the race is over. The Federal Government will be watching closely.”

“The only way she can lose is if they cheat by playing games with the Ballots as they come in,” he added.

He then repeated a false claim about his own record in the state.

“We can’t allow that to happen, because I won Minnesota three times, but they didn’t give me the Victories,” Trump wrote. “Minnesota hasn’t been ‘won’ since 1972, when Richard Nixon claimed the trophy.”

Trump lost Minnesota in all three of his presidential runs: to Hillary Clinton in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020, and Kamala Harris in 2024. Nixon in 1972 is the last Republican presidential nominee to carry the state, which no Democrat has failed to win since.

Trump’s warning that the “Federal Government will be watching closely” comes as his Justice Department is suing Alaska over its Senate race. The suit asks a federal court to block certification of any result “that may be impacted by voter confusion.”