Republicans once raced to embrace Trump. Their debate answers tell a
different story now
[October 10, 2026]
By BILL BARROW
ATLANTA (AP) — Not long ago, Georgia gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson
eagerly compared himself to his fellow billionaire in the Oval Office.
He promised to be Donald Trump “with a Southern tone.” And sharing a
summer rally stage, Jackson pointed at the president and declared, “I’m
going to be this man’s favorite governor.”
On the debate stage this week with his Democratic opponent, however,
Jackson discussed Trump only when Keisha Lance Bottoms brought him up.
And he assured his audience that he’d “stand up to anybody.”
Jackson is not alone in his recalibration: Republican nominees for
Senate, the U.S. House and governor’s offices across the country are
sidestepping Trump or openly distancing themselves as they debate before
Election Day.
Those tactics, not unlike Republicans scrubbing Trump from their
campaign websites, are the latest signs of how much Trump’s standing has
fallen because of voters’ frustration with inflation, the Iran war and
other matters. And the dynamics highlight the perilous options many
Republicans face as they try to stitch together winning coalitions that
go beyond Trump’s core supporters.
“Republicans right now are facing a voter turnout problem” in their own
party, said GOP pollster Paul Shumaker, and must win “unaffiliated
voters” who care most about the economy.
“You have to have something significant to change this narrative,”
Shumaker said. But, he explained, that means “a significant victory in
Iran” and seismic economic improvements — not something any Republican
midterm candidate can force from behind a debate podium.
There’s a Trump tightrope on Iran, tariffs and rhetoric
Some Republicans are taking specific positions at odds with the
president.
Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers said in his debate Thursday with
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed that he’d urged the White House privately to
reach a trade deal with Canada and end the president’s tariffs. Canada
is Michigan’s largest trading partner, as it is for many Great Lakes and
Midwestern states.
Days before, Rogers unveiled a new ad in which he said, “We know that
Canada is not our enemy. We need to end the tariff war — now.”
That's a noticeable departure from Rogers’ earlier, less specific
statements praising Trump’s “America First” economic agenda while saying
tariffs are not a “one-size-fits-all” solution.
Another Michigan Republican, Rep. Tom Barrett, already had bucked the
president by voting for a war powers resolution intended to assert
congressional authority over military actions in Iran. But debating
Democrat Will Lawrence in their central Michigan district, Barrett added
a criticism of Trump's rhetoric Monday in Nebraska, where he floated the
possibility of Iran attacking San Diego and Los Angeles.
The president mentioned those cities as part of his argument that higher
gas prices because of his Iran war are a “small price to pay” to keep
the country safe. But Democrats seized on the remarks, some insisting
that Trump was calling for Iran to attack U.S. cities.
Barrett was asked whether Trump’s words were acceptable. Given the
opportunity to echo the White House explanation that Trump was
offhandedly mentioning a worst-case scenario he was trying to prevent,
Barrett offered no defense.
“Nope,” he said flatly.
Many Republicans prefer a more generalized stiff arm
Reflecting the complex electoral balance, most Republicans have
attempted to separate themselves without naming any firm difference with
the president.
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U.S. Senate candidates Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, and Rep. Josh
Turek, D-Council Bluffs, take questions during a debate Wednesday,
Oct. 7, 2026, in Johnston, Iowa. (Cody Scanlan/The Des Moines
Register via AP, Pool)
Running for a promotion to the Senate, Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson
tried in her debate Wednesday against Democrat Josh Turek to reconcile
her earlier promises to be a Trump ally in Congress’s upper chamber. She
said it would be “really easy” to keep her word and still be bipartisan
— a buzz word she’s already been featuring in her campaign.
“I’ll be President Donald Trump’s ally when it is important for Iowa,
but I will push back on him — he knows this, because I talk to him
regularly — on things that are wrong for our state,” she said. “That’s
true no matter who’s in the White House. That’s true no matter who is
governing and who has the gavel.”
That’s the same path Jackson took in Georgia, as he pivoted away from
Trump by embracing outgoing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who
has clashed with the president, starting with Trump's false claims that
he won Georgia in the 2020 presidential election.
“I will stand up to anybody, just like Brian Kemp has done,” Jackson
said.
Another Republican House member, Mike Lawler of New York, made a point
of name-checking a Democratic colleague, New Jersey’s Josh Gottheimer,
and discussing bills they’d work on together. It was part of his
argument that he’s able to challenge Trump and the party line.
“When I agree with the president I say it. When I disagree with the
president, I say it,” he said in his closing remarks.
Hinson, meanwhile, referenced bills she’s worked on in the House that
have been signed into law by both President Joe Biden and Trump.
But she also avoided criticizing Trump when asked about the president
sending Affordable Care Act rebate checks to some Americans and
promising a $5,000 bonus after the midterm elections if Republicans
retain control of the House and Senate.
She said she “cares very deeply” about making sure Congress maintains
the power of the purse and thinks it’s important to “live better within
our means.”
Democrats pounce on either approach
Regardless of the Republican efforts, Democrats have continued peppering
them with attacks and retorts about Trump. The most heated moments came
when Democrat Cait Conley repeatedly said Lawler always voted with
Trump.
“No matter how many times you say 100% of the time,” the congressman
answered, “it’s provably false.”
When Rogers conceded in his back-and-forth with El-Sayed that the
administration “probably” made errors in its mass deportation strategy,
the Democrat answered swiftly.
“He said it was probably not right. I mean, it’s definitely not right,”
El-Sayed said. “They killed two people.”
And while Georgia’s Jackson seemed uncomfortable talking about Trump,
Bottoms was more than happy to mention him.
“I’m not running to be his favorite governor,” she said. “I’m running to
work on behalf of people like you."
___
Associated Press reporters Joey Cappelletti in Washington; Hannah
Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; and Jill Colvin in New York contributed
to this report.
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