Republicans ‘distance themselves from Mr. Trump’ before the midterm elections

The Republican Party is gradually losing hope that a last-minute surprise could significantly change the midterm election picture, as the situation becomes more and more unfavorable for them.

Five senior Republican lawmakers on October 14 told Politico that retaining a majority in the House of Representatives after the midterm elections is “impossible” and they are now only focusing on efforts to minimize losses as well as trying to maintain a majority in the Senate.

President Donald Trump is conducting a campaign in many states to entice voters to support Republican candidates. However, recent polls show that Mr. Trump’s approval rating has declined due to many controversial policies, causing Republicans to worry about the risk of them being affected as well.

In that context, Republican candidates are finding every way to protect their chances of winning, even if they have to publicly disagree with the President.

“There is a certain change across the country, when Republican lawmakers are bolder in saying what they want and less concerned about possible consequences,” said Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary under Republican President George W. Bush.

Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican candidate running for the Senate, and Alaska senator Dan Sullivan on October 9 expressed concern about the diesel agreement that President Trump reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Nate Adams, a spokesman for Mr. Sullivan, said the Alaska senator believes “America’s energy dominance” is the solution to the problem of rising diesel prices. “That means increasing production in Alaska, produced by Alaskans and serving Alaskans, instead of importing from Russia,” Adams said.

Rogers also opposes diesel imports from Russia, instead supporting a temporary ban on diesel exports, an option the White House once considered but then did not choose. “You will not want to give in to Mr. Trump even a little bit,” he told reporters on October 9, before a campaign event in Michigan.

Some other Republican candidates also sought to distance themselves from the White House boss’s controversial policies.

Congressman Ashley Hinson of Iowa and Senator Jon Husted of Ohio, who are running for the Senate, called for an early end to hostilities with Iran. In Florida, Congresswoman Maria Salazar said that Mr. Trump’s immigration deportation policy had gone too far.

In Kansas, Senator Roger Marshall expressed “disappointment” with the President’s plan to import hundreds of thousands of tons of foreign beef.

These things reflect growing discontent across the country, as many Republican lawmakers believe that the Trump administration has not done enough to create favorable economic conditions for the party before the midterm elections.

In Kansas, where Marshall is competing closely with Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton, farmers are facing difficulties not only from tariffs but also from rising diesel prices, labor shortages and the administration’s efforts to lower beef prices. Mr. Marshall said that the President’s decision to import foreign beef sent the wrong message to domestic beef farmers.

“There is concern that voters will not vote this year and wait until the presidential election two years from now,” said Ken Rahjes, a Republican congressman in the Kansas state legislature.

An anonymous White House official told Politico that Mr. Trump and Republican lawmakers “are not divided.” This person said that many candidates have appeared with the President at rallies in their states or attended the national conference on midterm elections in Dallas, and gave the example of more than two dozen candidates who regularly mentioned Mr. Trump on social networks.

“These candidates are only mentioning issues in their states. They are campaigning in real terms and must address practical issues that directly affect people’s lives, not turning their backs on Mr. Trump’s policies,” this official said.

The White House and some Republicans close to Mr. Trump said the President accepted candidates having different views, as long as they did not directly criticize him.

Another White House official said he explained to the President that just because a candidate has an opposing stance on an issue “doesn’t mean they are opposing”, and Mr. Trump agreed with this assessment.

In fact, Republican lawmakers rarely directly criticize Mr. Trump, even when urging the President to change many of the policies that shaped his second term.

Last week, Mr. Rogers released a campaign ad in which he drank Canadian beer at a bar, a beer banned from import by the US, and called for an end to the more than month-long trade war between Mr. Trump and Canada.

This is a reversal of Mr. Rogers’ position. Not long after the trade war began in August, he said in an interview with Fox News that some measures in the trade war are “right” for Michigan and that “Canada is not a good partner.”

“It is not surprising that politicians seek to distance themselves from the White House when campaigning in their localities. If the problem is not resolved and the situation does not improve, they need to speak up about it,” said Jason Roe, a strategist in Michigan who is participating in the re-election campaign of Republican congressman Tom Barrett.

Congressman Hinson criticized the consequences of the Iran war, saying that voters in her state are under pressure and “should not have to bear the costs of war in Iran through gas prices or shopping bills.” Mr. Rogers, Mr. Husted and Tom Tiffany, a candidate for governor of Wisconsin, also called for an end to the war.

“People here are extremely dissatisfied,” said Lance Lillibridge, an Iowa farmer, an informal agricultural advisor to Ms. Hinson and an active participant in Republican political activities in the state.

Lillibridge added that he and everyone in Iowa wanted the war to end. “Her mission is to convey that message to Washington,” he said, adding that he still strongly supports President Trump.

Republican National Committee (RNC) spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre affirmed that the party remains “united” on agendas related to cutting taxes, medicine costs and protecting community security.

“We focus all our efforts on the goal of winning. The candidates will deploy appropriate campaigns to best represent voters in their areas and prevent the Democratic Party from gaining control,” she said.