Republicans face Trump campaign dilemma as midterms near, some quietly want distance

WASHINGTON, DC: An unusual election campaign dilemma has struck the Republican nominees in battleground districts as some candidates want the star campaigner, President Donald Trump, to stay away from their districts.

Along with the GOP’s grasp on majority control of the House and Senate, key gubernatorial and legislative seats on the ballot are hanging in the balance.

Battleground nominees want Trump to stay away

According to a report by Politico published on Friday, September 4, citing “more than two dozen GOP lawmakers, candidates and operatives,” Trump “appears eager to get on the campaign trail” and plans to be “heavily involved in the final 30 days” before the midterms. 

But Republican candidates are “not all thrilled” about the prospect.

Some Republicans desperately want Trump’s support, like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who is struggling in his election campaign, and GOP funders have reportedly asked Trump to assist Paxton.

But as per the outlet, “many Republicans facing tough elections, even in areas the president carried by double digits in 2024, are wary of tying themselves too closely to Trump as his approval rating continues to drag.”

As per the report, these nominees are stuck in a dilemma, with several privately admitting that if they openly distance themselves from Trump, they “risk alienating the MAGA faithful or the president himself, whose super PAC is sitting on more than $400 million they desperately need deployed to help them win key races.”

But being seen as too closely intertwined with the president risks his unpopular Iran war and economic woes dragging them down too.

Some candidates told Trump's team to stay away

Some Republican campaigns have even told Trump’s team that they do not want the president to visit their districts, as per the report. Advisers have also told some candidates to avoid mentioning Trump during their campaign speeches.

“We’ve told them he cannot come,” said one Republican identified as "in a competitive House GOP race in a district where Trump won by double digits in 2024," adding, “Candidly, he would not be helpful here … I do not believe they would send him without our OK. And if they did, we probably wouldn’t campaign with him.”

One House Republican who is in tough competition with his opponent told the outlet that either mentioning Trump too much or not staying in his "good graces" is damaging for their political future.

“We can’t turn around now and pretend that we don’t know him,” a GOP operative in a battleground state told Politico, especially for those Republicans who benefited from Trump’s endorsement to win their primaries.

“Anyone who tries to distance themselves after hugging, you just can’t get away with that,” the operative added. “All you’re gonna do is p**s off the MAGA lovers, who we still need to keep in the family… Every cycle people try to do that, and it looks disingenuous. At this point, Trump is baked into everything.”