**Some in GOP distance from Trump as midterms inch closer****With less than six weeks until Election Day, a growing number of Republicans are breaking from Trump on key issues. It comes as the party is scrambling to hold onto a slim majority in Congress.** As election enters its final stretch, some Republicans are distancing from Trump Seen on a screen below an exit sign, President Trump speaks on the first day of the 2026 Republican convention on Sept. 9 in Dallas. **Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images******hide caption**** There's a rare thing happening inside President Trump's Republican Party: dissent. The president has long insisted on loyalty, but in recent weeks, a growing number of Republican candidates and elected officials have distanced themselves from core pieces of his agenda: from calling for an end to the U.S. war with Iran and relief from high prices, to criticizing his handling of key agenda issues like immigration.
It comes at a critical moment for the GOP. With less than 40 days until voting ends, the party is scrambling to hold onto a slim majority in Congress, where control of both the Senate and House of Representatives could come down to just a handful of toss-up races. Trump's presence in the midterms looms large.
He has repeatedly told voters to vote like he is on the ballot, despite facing historically low approval ratings. That could backfire, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, which finds that a plurality of registered voters, 45%, and a majority of independents, view their vote as a vote against Trump. "Trump's strength has always been primarily devised from his relationship to the voters," said Sarah Longwell, a GOP strategist and longtime critic of the president.
"Republicans have always been loath to cross him because of his sort of stronghold on the party." Trump is on voters' minds in the midterms — and they're not happy, poll shows However, as Americans continue to sour on the president, Longwell argued that GOP lawmakers and candidates alike may "feel more comfortable bucking him on things that they really care about." While most of the Republicans who have distanced themselves are on the ballot this fall, the splits have not been solely confined to the campaign trail. On Tuesday, Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis, who isn't up for reelection until 2030, released a letter urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., after ProPublica reported that a Russian oligarch financed large portions of a lavish party to celebrate his wedding.
Though past Trump-critics have largely been voted out of Congress or left the party, and the president still enjoys overwhelming support from Republican voters, Longwell sees Curtis' move as a potential indicator that lawmakers view the president's coalition as increasingly fragile. "You are starting to see the very beginnings of people recognizing that Trump just doesn't have the juice that he once did and starting to push back." In poll after poll, Americans consistently rank the cost of living as their top concern, and now, many say the conflict has added additional financial strain on their lives. It's a connection that some Republican candidates running in toss-up races this cycle are acknowledging.
On Monday, two GOP Senate candidates – Ashley Hinson of Iowa and Mike Rogers of Michigan – came out against the war and lobbied for additional relief for Americans impacted by rising costs. "Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn't have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran," Hinson said in a statement on X, adding the conflict "needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end." The comments marked a shift for Hinson, who has previously voted against efforts to end the war. In a video filmed at a supermarket, Rogers also made a point to link rising prices to the conflict.
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