{
  "id": 9638402,
  "title": "The Doomed Midterm Strategy Some Republicans Are Trying",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/the-doomed-midterm-strategy-some-republicans-are-trying",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-24T21:59:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Atlantic",
    "slug": "the-atlantic",
    "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/09/gop-members-seeking-distance-trump-midterms/688777/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Republican party is seeing a significant shift as politicians distance themselves from President Trump ahead of the midterm elections. Florida Republican Representative Maria Elvira Salazar recently released a critique of the administration's immigration enforcement, stating that Hispanic voters feel \"betrayed.\" Florida GOP nominee for governor Byron Donalds has removed most references to Trump from his website, despite his career being built on his loyalty to Trump. Senate contenders Mike Rogers from Michigan and Ashley Hinson from Iowa are both advocating for an end to the Iran war. Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany has even claimed that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. The number of prominent Republicans distancing themselves from Trump has increased rapidly over the past 10 days, suggesting widespread dissatisfaction with his unpopularity and the negative impact on their campaigns. This shift may indicate that the GOP candidates are receiving private information about the president's unpopularity, or it could simply be a normal reaction in an atypical political climate. Historically, a president's party tends to lose seats in midterm elections due to the pendulum effect, and this race is particularly challenging for Republicans as Trump's unpopularity is higher than ever. The dynamics of this midterm race are further complicated by Trump's historically low approval ratings, which are even lower than in 2018 when Democrats dominated the midterms. The situation is reminiscent of past events, such as Democrats trying to distance themselves from Bill Clinton in 1994, Republicans recoiling from George W. Bush in 2006, and Democrats avoiding Barack Obama in 2012. These efforts to separate from the unpopular president have mostly failed, as those who tried to do so often lost their seats. The usual outcome is that the president's party loses seats in midterms, as hard-core partisans in safe seats tend to survive, while moderates who distance themselves from the president are more likely to lose in contested races. Despite some Republicans' sincere desire to end the Iran war or criticize Trump's immigration enforcement, voters have no reason to believe that giving Republicans another two years in control of Congress would change the current situation. The main concern is that if the GOP retains congressional control, there won't be any significant changes to the consensus.",
  "summary": "GOP incumbents are seeking distance from President Trump, but that’s not likely to save them.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}