Trump wants MAGA rallies. Many Republicans in swing races want him to stay away. Both may get their wish.
Donald Trump has promised to campaign in the 35 most competitive races before Election Day. But his midterm blitz opens this week in friendly territory — Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama — and that may be by design.
Trump visiting a swing district would “be a net negative for the candidate there,” said a White House official, granted anonymity to discuss political strategy candidly. “The closer the race, the more the [Republican candidate] is trying to break from President Trump.”
Others inside and around the White House describe the same logic: keep Trump away from contested races, where moderate voters who are unenthusiastic about him cast the decisive ballots.
With Talarico, Texas has every chance of electing a Democrat to the Senate; Trump and the Republican Party at large are investing tens of millions of dollars into the state’s election in an attempt to prevent it.