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\u201cAIR FORCE VETERAN. SMALL BUSINESSMAN. TRUMP CONSERVATIVE.\u201d<\/p>\n
The all-caps headline on Texas Republican congressional candidate Carlos De La Cruz\u2019s website used to align him with President Donald Trump. Not anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cNATIVE TEXAN. AIR FORCE VETERAN. SMALL BUSINESSMAN. PROVEN CONSERVATIVE,\u201d\u00a0it reads now.<\/p>\n
De La Cruz\u2019s campaign rejected any suggestion he was backing away from the president, whose knack for mobilizing his loyalists remains critical for Republicans in this fall\u2019s midterm elections. The overwhelming majority of Republicans on the ballot this fall are embracing Trump despite\u00a0his dismal approval ratings, an unpopular\u00a0war with Iran\u00a0and\u00a0lingering inflation.<\/p>\n
However, as the two-month sprint to Election Day begins, a small collection of Republican candidates have quietly begun to distance themselves in subtle ways from Trump now that they\u2019ve won contested primaries in which his endorsement was often the most coveted prize. The shift is easy to miss, often only a few words or new pictures. And Republicans insist there is no shift at all.<\/p>\n
Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, called it a \u201cmanufactured storyline.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump and House Republicans have delivered historic results for the American people, and our candidates are eager to take that record directly to voters alongside the President on the campaign trail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But from California to Texas and Kentucky to Alaska, candidates in recent weeks have tweaked their campaign messaging to downplay their connection to Trump. A handful of others have highlighted their opposition to his policies.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an extremely delicate balance for vulnerable Republican candidates, who must expand their appeal beyond Trump\u2019s MAGA base to win in the general election this fall, but are also afraid to trigger a backlash from Trump or his hard core supporters if they create too much distance.<\/p>\n
Most candidates are still wrapping their arms around Trump.<\/p>\n
Republican allies of the president argue there is little upside for candidates to turn away from Trump, despite his weak polling numbers. Democrats will try to cast every Republican running as a Trump acolyte, regardless of their actual stances, they said, and midterm successes typically depend on turning out base voters. Trump remains the Republican Party\u2019s best motivator.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole Republican brand is that we\u2019re aligned with Trump so you gain nothing from it,\u201d said Jason Roe, a Republican who advises Rep. Tom Barrett, who is fighting for reelection in a competitive mid-Michigan district race.<\/p>\n
It is typical for candidates from both sides to tweak their messages after primary elections. Some Democrats, for example, have begun pitching themselves as moderates after highlighting endorsements from progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders during their primaries.<\/p>\n
Still, the slight shift among at least a half-dozen Republican congressional candidates could signal the beginning of a more significant move within the party as the weight of Trump\u2019s unpopularity with the general public comes into view at a critical moment. Just 33% of adults approve of Trump\u2019s job performance, according to\u00a0Associated Press-NORC polling\u00a0from July. And Trump gets relatively poor ratings on his handling of the economy, immigration and foreign policy.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Trump will not make it easy for vulnerable Republicans to avoid him. As voters typically begin paying much closer attention to politics after Labor Day, the president will headline a two-day Republican convention in Dallas as he urges voters to act as if he were on the ballot.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem that we have is they say that Trump does great when he\u2019s on the ballot, but when he\u2019s not on the ballot, his people don\u2019t come,\u201d Trump said as he recently stumped in South Carolina.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I\u2019m on the ballot,\u201d he went on. \u201cJust say that I\u2019m on the ballot one more time.\u201d<\/p>\n
A number of Republicans have removed or downplayed references to Trump from their websites after winning their primaries.<\/p>\n
Eric Flores, a former assistant U.S. Attorney and Texas Army National Guard infantry captain running against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez Jr. in South Texas,\u00a0once featured\u00a0\u201cSUPPORT PRESIDENT TRUMP\u2019S AGENDA\u201d as No. 2 in his list of priorities on his campaign homepage.<\/p>\n
That item has now been replaced with \u201c\u00a0LOWER THE COST OF LIVING,\u201d a top issue for voters. Trump does not appear anywhere else on the website, aside from a list of endorsements that previously appeared on the homepage but has been moved to a separate page.<\/p>\n
Flores\u2019 campaign declined to comment.<\/p>\n
In Kentucky, Ralph Alvarado, running to represent the overwhelmingly Republican 6th Congressional District, removed all references to Trump from\u00a0his campaign homepage, as well as a photo of the two of them together after winning his primary in May. He now promises to offer \u201cINDEPENDENT LEADERSHIP\u201d after previously running as an \u201cAMERICA FIRST FIGHTER.\u201d<\/p>\n
NBC News\u00a0first reported\u00a0the changes to Alvarado\u2019s website. Campaign manager Andy Westberry noted Trump\u2019s photo still appears elsewhere in a media gallery. \u201cThe socialists are going to have to do a lot better than this nonsense to win this district,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Some changes do not mean Trump has been erased.<\/p>\n
While De La Cruz no longer touts himself as a \u201cTRUMP CONSERVATIVE\u201d at the top of his homepage, a video that is embedded lower down features the Air Force veteran speaking at a Trump rally.<\/p>\n
He still calls himself a \u201cTEXAS TRUMP CONSERVATIVE\u201d on his bio page and lists \u201cSupporting President Trump\u2019s America First Agenda\u201d as among his priorities on a \u201cMission\u201d page.<\/p>\n
But the bio section has also been tweaked. It once\u00a0described him as\u00a0\u201cready to be President Trump\u2019s wingman in Congress.\u201d That section now says he is running because he \u201cbelieves America needs more servant leaders and fewer corrupt politicians\u201d and \u201cbecause he\u2019s not finished serving the country he loves.\u201d<\/p>\n
De La Cruz campaign manager Jordan Pawlicki said in a statement that, during the primary, several candidates were claiming the president\u2019s endorsement, so the campaign \u201cput it front and center.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarlos is honored to have President Trump\u2019s support, which is why the President is featured prominently across our website,\u201d Pawlicki said.<\/p>\n
In Nevada, Republican congressional candidate Marty O\u2019Donnell\u2019s website featured Trump prominently in June. The very first thing visitors saw was a pop-up with a large picture of Trump and a smiling O\u2019Donnell standing side by side. The words \u201cPresident Trump endorsed Marty O\u2019Donnell\u201d were written beneath the image.<\/p>\n
Two months later, the photo does not appear on the website. O\u2019Donnell\u2019s campaign said the photo was not intentionally removed; the change was simply the standard rotation of the \u201csplash page.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Donnell adviser Keith Schipper noted that O\u2019Donnell, a music composer best known for his work on the \u201cHalo\u201d video game series, has not deviated from his steadfast support for Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cRepublicans are embracing President Trump on the campaign trail because they know he is the key to getting his voters out in November,\u201d Schipper said. \u201cThe president has delivered on the agenda he promised voters in 2024 and Republicans are smartly using it to win this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was another subtle shift in Alaska\u2019s House race, where Republican Rep. Nick Begich is running for reelection.<\/p>\n
In June, he highlighted his relationship to Trump on the homepage of his website: \u201cAlongside President Trump, we have made great gains for Alaska, putting us on a path to self-determination and generational success.\u201d<\/p>\n
This week, nothing in that section has been changed, except for the opening line that previously mentioned Trump. Now, that line reads, \u201cWe have delivered for Alaska, putting us on a path to self-determination and generational success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Begich\u2019s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican who represents a district carried by Kamala Harris in the last election, appeared on stage with the president during a rally in his district just three months ago. But does he want Trump to return before Election Day?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he comes back, that\u2019s fine, but ultimately this race is going to be decided by my record and my vision,\u201d Lawler said in an interview.<\/p>\n
Lawler supported Trump\u2019s so-called \u201cbig, beautiful bill,\u201d but he\u2019s quick to highlight policy differences, especially on taxes. Trump does not appear on Lawler\u2019s campaign website.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin who is closely aligned with Trump, publicly criticized the president\u2019s decision to\u00a0sign an order\u00a0renaming Lake Ontario \u201cLake America\u201d as part of his trade war with Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe the Great Lakes are the Great Lakes and should stay Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario,\u201d he said,\u00a0according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week,\u00a0he came out against\u00a0Trump\u2019s plan to\u00a0import cheaper ground beef\u00a0in an effort to reduce prices.<\/p>\n
Others want distance from Trump\u2019s\u00a0unpopular war with Iran.<\/p>\n
In Michigan, Rep. Barrett, who flipped a Lansing-area district two years ago, has been highlighting his vote against Trump\u2019s war in Iran on the campaign trail as he competes against William Lawrence, a self-described democratic socialist.<\/p>\n
Barrett this year has repeatedly broken ranks with Republicans to join Democrats in voting for the War Powers Resolution to rein in Trump\u2019s military campaign in Iran. And he has been promoting those votes, promoting a recent town hall with constituents, by saying he would \u201cbe having a discussion about the War Powers Act and my efforts to place congressional limits on the war in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roe, the Republican who advises Barrett, said the vote was not about some major break from Trump but a difference over a policy-specific issue. Barrett served in the U.S. Army for over two decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s willing to be at odds with the White House on this issue,\u201d Roe said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
___ <\/p>\n
Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti reported from St. Joseph, Michigan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Trump #Republican #midterm #hopes #message #voters #Pretend #ballot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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