- GOP candidates in tight races have leaned on campaign optics centered around their regions rather than on sharply partisan politics.
asserted
candidates → lean → politics
- Trump told the crowd at the recent Republican midterm convention to ‘pretend I am on the ticket.’
asserted
I → tell → ticket
As President Trump tells supporters to vote in November as if he were on the ballot, California Republicans in tight congressional races are sending a different message to voters.
asserted
Republicans → tell → voters
The four California Republicans running in the state’s most competitive U.S. House races, plus a fifth opposing a fellow Republican in a close contest, are appearing to keep some distance from Trump as they campaign ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
asserted
they → run → election
They all skipped the president’s midterm convention in Dallas this month.
asserted
They → skip → Dallas
Two candidates in tough races removed references to Trump on their campaign websites.
asserted
candidates → remove → websites
And most are favoring a heavy focus on local and state issues in their campaigns — a contrast to Trump’s approach, driven home in Dallas, of casting the election as a loyalty exercise.
asserted
most → favor → exercise
“You’ve got to do me the biggest favor you’ve ever done me.
asserted
you → get → me
You’ve got to do this for me: You have to pretend I am on the ticket,” Trump told a crowd at the GOP midterm convention.
asserted
Trump → get → convention
“Pretend I am on the ticket because this is going to turn out to be one of the most important elections.”
asserted
this → pretend → elections
The dynamic within the GOP reflects several competing factors: the need to attract new voters in districts made more purple by California’s redistricting, the hope that Trump can rally the base while candidates focus on swing voters, and the fear among Republicans that the president’s flagging approval ratings could cost them crucial seats in the midterms.
uncertain
ratings → reflect → midterms
“There is a bit of jujitsu to it,” said Rob Stutzman, a longtime California Republican consultant.
asserted
Stutzman → be → it
“These candidates are hoping that Trump motivates these voters to vote ... [while they] focus on gaining votes, particularly from independents who don’t like the president right now.”
asserted
who → hop → president
The state’s redistricting under Proposition 50, which redrew the congressional map to be more favorable to Democrats, also handed Republican candidates the necessity of persuading more unaffiliated voters and moderate Democrats — likely a major factor in their stances toward the White House, said Pete Peterson, dean of the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy.
asserted
Peterson → redrew → Policy
“To the degree that Republican candidates are distancing themselves, they’re understanding that they’re actually appealing to newer electorates,” Peterson said.
asserted
Peterson → distance → electorates
“[The districts] have been made more moderate, more purple, and candidates may be responding accordingly as a way of trying to attract those voters.”
uncertain
candidates → make → voters
Facing headwinds
The party in power typically faces an uphill battle in midterm elections, and vulnerable candidates often distance themselves from the sitting president.
asserted
candidates → face → president
As Republicans fight to keep control of the House and Senate in November, however, they are dealing with particularly serious challenges stemming from Trump’s low favorability rating and public frustration with the economy, the war in Iran and the escalating trade war with Canada.
asserted
they → fight → Canada
Trump largely has dismissed concerns about the economy and the war, even as polling shows both are weighing heavily on voters.
asserted
both → dismiss → voters
He also has exacerbated challenges for his party amid the growing public backlash to data centers and artificial intelligence, doubling down on his support for AI advancement in recent days even as GOP candidates in tight races look to respond to constituents’ concerns.
asserted
candidates → exacerbate → concerns
He also drew criticism from some within his party after promising to give a $5,000 payment to every adult citizen if Republicans win the House and Senate in November, a legally murky idea.
asserted
Republicans → draw → idea
Still, Trump has urged Republican lawmakers in tough reelection campaigns to run on his record and earlier this month vowed to spend the last month before the election stumping for candidates in 35 battleground races, including in Alaska and Texas.
asserted
Trump → urge → Alaska
He has not yet mentioned plans for California.
asserted
He → mention → California
“All you have to do is talk about it, and you’re going to win and you’re going to win big,” Trump said of his record.
asserted
Trump → have → record
Candidates nationwide seem unconvinced.
asserted
Candidates → seem → ?
A Washington Post analysis found that Republican politicians have stopped mentioning Trump on social media, doing so about half as often as they did in January.
asserted
they → find → January
Many in competitive races skipped his convention, and in recent weeks some have broken with him on data centers and the payout pitch.
asserted
some → skip → centers
In California, the headwinds for the GOP were captured in a survey released last week: A greater share of independents said they would vote for the Democratic candidate over the Republican in their House districts, the Public Policy Institute of California found, and a majority of likely voters polled Sept. 4-10 said they would choose the Democratic candidate if the election were held now.
Last week, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton’s campaign blasted a fundraising text to voters that began: “We get it.
asserted
We → capture → it
Maybe you don’t like Trump.
asserted
you → like → Trump
Maybe you can’t stand MAGA.”
asserted
you → stand → MAGA
Democrats have seized on the dynamic.
asserted
Democrats → seize → dynamic
“California Republicans know their loyalty to a toxic MAGA brand is a losing strategy,” said Anna Elsasser, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
asserted
Elsasser → know → Committee
“Unlucky for them, no desperate rebrand can save them from their clear record of broken promises — from raising costs, to ripping away health care, to supporting another forever war everyone hates.”
asserted
everyone → save → war
Leaning on the local
In Orange County, Rep. Young Kim — in a close contest with fellow Republican Ken Calvert — has stripped her campaign website of the “America first” branding and references to Trump that defined it before the primary.
asserted
that → lean → primary
And in Northern California, Rep. James Gallagher has scrubbed Trump’s endorsement from his campaign website, which months ago prominently featured his close ties to the president.
asserted
which → scrub → president
Other candidates in tight races — Rep. David Valadao, running for reelection in the Central Valley; Kevin Lincoln, challenging Democratic Rep. Adam Gray; and Jim Desmond, running to fill the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Darrell Issa — have leaned on campaign optics centered around their regions rather than on sharply partisan politics.
asserted
candidates → run → politics
None of the three attended Trump’s convention.
asserted
None → attend → convention
Valadao rarely mentions Trump on social media and is the last House Republican still running who voted for Trump’s second impeachment.
asserted
who → mention → impeachment
Desmond does not mention his support from Trump on his endorsements web page; Lincoln does.
asserted
Lincoln → mention → page
Rep. Kevin Kiley, who left the Republican Party this year after his district was redrawn and after he clashed with Trump over tariffs, also is making an appeal to middle-of-the-road voters, promoting legislation around AI safeguards while taking aim at Sacramento policies.
asserted
he → leave → policies
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
