2026-09-19T09:00:29.106Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/19/politics/vulnerable-republicans-defying-trump-midterms
艾奥瓦州两名弱势共和党众议员本周首次投票支持限制特朗普总统的伊朗战争权力。南佛罗里达州议员玛丽亚·埃尔维拉·萨拉查发布广告称，特朗普的移民打击行动“已经太过火”。包括多位处于竞争激烈选区的农业州共和党人近期也在特朗普暂停外国牛肉关税后发起反抗。
在整个中期选举版图中，共和党人正想方设法与不受欢迎的总统划清界限，竭力保住国会多数席位。
这种态势反映出，随着民主党攻势延伸至堪萨斯州、得克萨斯州和佛罗里达州等深红州，共和党人面临的政治环境已变得何等险恶。但这也与近年形势形成逆转：向来以对党内批评者睚眦必报著称的特朗普及其政治团队，此次并未针对叛离者采取打击行动。
“这显然与第一任期的特朗普不同，当时他根本不在乎与共和党同僚撕破关系，”一位要求匿名以便直言不讳的共和党幕僚告诉CNN，“我认为他意识到自己需要赢得选举，要做到这一点，就需要给我们的议员更多灵活性。”
一位参与竞争性全州竞选的共和党幕僚表示，白宫并未下达“可以与特朗普分道扬镳”的指令，将白宫的态度总结为：“做你该做的事。”
白宫将置评请求推给了共和党全国委员会。共和党全国委员会发言人娜塔莉·巴尔达萨雷在一份声明中称，共和党人“团结一致、目标一致”，但也承认当下的政治现实。
“归根结底，我们在乎的是赢得选举，这些候选人需要开展必要的竞选活动以达成目标，”巴尔达萨雷说道。
在周二投票限制特朗普的战争权力后，艾奥瓦州共和党众议员扎克·纳恩和玛丽安妮特·米勒-米克斯发表的声明中并未提及特朗普，而是直截了当地谈到了这场冲突。米勒-米克斯表示，她“不会投票让我们的士兵陷入无休止的战争，让艾奥瓦州民众在加油站付出过高代价”。他们是本周投票支持战争权力决议的七名共和党议员之一，这一人数创下新高。
特朗普尚未公开就纳恩或米勒-米克斯的投票表态。
“我认为，当你出于原则行事时，总统当然能够理解，”米勒-米克斯在投票前告诉CNN。
特朗普周五对萨拉查作出回应，称他仍然支持她连任，但不同意她的批评。
“她在边境问题上有点软弱——我理解，我理解——但我碰巧当时不在场，”特朗普说道。
并非所有摇摆选区的共和党人都认为与总统保持距离是可行策略。
“特朗普总统是个有独立想法的人。真正让我深感不安的是，我的很多同僚为了政治目的试图与总统拉开距离，我认为这很愚蠢，”威斯康星州共和党众议员德里克·范·奥登告诉CNN。
即便在本周引人注目的共和党议员倒戈事件发生之前，许多处于摇摆选区的共和党人就已试图将自己与总统区分开来。尽管特朗普将经济负担问题称为“骗局”，但他们却直接谈论降低成本的话题。一些人还反对他升级与加拿大的贸易战。他们还找到了更多本土议题，以此标榜自己的独立性。
在最近的一场辩论中，亚利桑那州众议员胡安·西斯科马尼称赞自己今年早些时候投票推翻特朗普对一项水利基础设施法案的否决权。“这需要一定的勇气，”西斯科马尼说道。
本月早些时候，纳恩表示，他在与美国贸易代表贾米森·格里尔的私下会晤中直接批评了政府在该领域的某些决策，甚至补充称，他在白宫为摇摆选区共和党人举办的晚宴上直接向特朗普表达了这些担忧。
得克萨斯州第23国会选区出现了一个特别能说明问题的案例：该选区共和党提名候选人布兰登·埃雷拉数月前就开始反对政府在大弯曲国家公园修建边境墙的计划。他与政府官员会面，举办了关于该工程的社区论坛，并参加了在得克萨斯州议会大厦举行的反对修建边境墙的集会，在集会上宣称“没人”想要这么做。
政府已于上月暂停该项目。埃雷拉竞选团队的一名助手称赞政府“始终乐于听取意见……而非固执己见”。
政府似乎尤其理解共和党议员对这场战争的焦虑。副总统JD·万斯对这场战争带来的政治风险持包容态度，近期告诉共和党议员，他们需要“坦诚”地向选民表达自己的挫败感。
“即便你并非在所有问题上都与我们意见一致，另一方也被疯狂念头占据了，”这位副总统在周二录制播客时说道，这与他上周在达拉斯举行的中期选举大会上的讲话如出一辙。
万斯近期在堪萨斯州与参议员罗杰·马歇尔一同开展竞选活动，后者在本应稳固的红色州竟面临出人意料的激烈竞争。马歇尔近期致函政府，请求缓解由战争导致的柴油价格上涨问题，称这是“突如其来且基本难以预见的成本冲击”。
密歇根州共和党众议员汤姆·巴雷特于7月底第三次投票支持限制特朗普的伊朗战争权力，但仅仅四天后，巴雷特就站在特朗普身边，参加了在他所在的密歇根州摇摆选区举行的集会，欣然接受总统的背书，并回以赞扬之词。
特朗普对这场战争的处理方式在全美范围内都极不受欢迎。昆尼皮亚克大学最近的一项调查显示，选民以超过2比1的比例不赞成特朗普处理伊朗局势的方式。
巴雷特在共和党议员中属于异类，即便在处境艰难的选区议员中亦是如此。大多数人在战争问题上仍支持特朗普，赌选民会接受经济阵痛，只要能阻止伊朗获得核武器。
这并不是说特朗普总能让共和党人省心。最近几周，他将安大略湖更名为“美国湖”，偏离了共和党人的首选信息。他还提议将新墨西哥州更名为“新美国”，这让该州众议院席位的顶级共和党候选人格雷格·坎宁安陷入尴尬境地。坎宁安将此轻描淡写为“讽刺”，而民主党人则趁机大做文章。
“并不是他们在政治上给我们施压，或者要求我们在某些事情上保持忠诚，他们只是做事时没有考虑到这会对某些选区产生怎样的影响，”一位参与竞争性众议院竞选的共和党幕僚说道。
即便特朗普今年对共和党议员表达最直接的不满时，他也并未采取实际行动。今年2月，特朗普威胁要对任何投票反对他、从而有效废除对加拿大关税的共和党人发起初选挑战。这种公开姿态似乎与幕后动态并不相符。时任众议院议长迈克·约翰逊当时表示，特朗普“并未对投票限制其关税方面行政权力的众议院共和党人感到不满”，并称“他理解当前的局势”。
当时有六名共和党议员在关税投票中违抗特朗普，而长期与总统存在个人恩怨的异类共和党众议员托马斯·马西是唯一一位遭遇初选挑战的人。
缅因州的一个典型案例
特朗普近期升级与加拿大的贸易战，对寻求连任第六个任期的参议员苏珊·柯林斯来说尤其难熬。她所在的北部边境州在2024年大选中以7个百分点的差距输给了特朗普。
柯林斯已反对过包括国防部长皮特·赫格塞思在内的多位特朗普提名者；去年投票反对总统的标志性法案，还多次投票支持限制特朗普用于征收关税的紧急权力。
最近，柯林斯成功为包括道路盐和水泥在内的商品争取到了关税豁免。柯林斯的民主党对手特洛伊·杰克逊讽刺地感谢了她，并问道：“那其他东西呢？”
参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩（南达科他州共和党人）本周承认，候选人可能会在贸易问题上与特朗普产生分歧，他告诉记者，候选人将“必须……以符合各自州实际情况的方式处理这个问题”。
“柯林斯参议员在其参议院任期内已与五位不同的总统共事，对每位总统都采取了同样的做法，包括特朗普总统，”柯林斯竞选团队发言人布雷克·克内伦在一份声明中说道，“当她同意某项举措时，她会予以支持；当她不同意时，她会毫不犹豫地反对，并倡导她认为符合缅因州和美国利益的正确结果。”
万斯近几个月已两次访问缅因州，而柯林斯每次都以日程冲突为由缺席他的活动。
但这并未阻止万斯称赞这位长期任职的蓝州现任议员——以及她的独立作风。
“她有时会让我的工作稍微难做一点，”万斯上月在布鲁尔说道，“但她让我难做，是因为她每天都来上班，不是为了某个政党，也不是为了任何抽象的理念……她为缅因州伟大的民众而战。”
Vulnerable Republicans are increasingly defying President Trump ahead of the midterms
2026-09-19T09:00:29.106Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/19/politics/vulnerable-republicans-defying-trump-midterms
Two vulnerable House Republicans from Iowa voted this week for the first time to rein in President Donald Trump’s Iran war powers. A lawmaker from South Florida, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, released an ad saying Trump’s immigration crackdown had “gone too far.” And a bevy of farm-state Republicans, including some in competitive races, recently revolted after Trump paused tariffs on foreign beef.
Across the midterm map, Republicans are finding ways to stand apart from a unpopular president as they scramble to keep their majorities in Congress.
The dynamic reflects how treacherous the political terrain has become for Republicans as the Democratic offensive stretches into deeply red states like Kansas, Texas and Florida. But it also represents a reversal from recent years, as Trump – who is famously vindictive against critics in his own party – and his political operation haven’t targeted defectors.
“It’s definitely a different Trump than what we saw in the first administration where he didn’t care about burning his relationships with fellow Republicans,” a GOP operative, granted anonymity to speak freely, told CNN. “I think he recognizes he needs to win and to do that he needs to give some more flexibility to our members.”
One Republican operative in a competitive statewide race said there’s been no “edict” that it is OK to split with Trump, summing up the White House’s attitude as, “Do what you gotta do.”
The White House referred comment to the Republican National Committee. An RNC spokeswoman, Natalie Baldassarre, said in a statement that Republicans are “unified and rowing in the same direction” but also acknowledged the political reality of the moment.
“At the end of the day, we care about winning, and these candidates need to run the races necessary to accomplish that,” Baldassarre said.
After voting Tuesday to limit Trump’s war powers, Iowa GOP Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks issued statements that did not mention Trump but spoke bluntly about the conflict. Miller-Meeks said she would “not vote to keep our soldiers in an open-ended war, with Iowans paying too much at the pump.” They were among seven Republicans to vote for the war powers resolution, the most yet.
Trump has yet to say anything about Nunn or Miller-Meeks publicly.
“I think when you do things out of principle, the president certainly understand that,” Miller-Meeks told CNN before casting her vote.
Trump responded to Salazar on Friday, saying he still backs her for reelection but disagrees with her criticism.
“She got a little bit soft on the border – I understand that, I understand that – but I just don’t happen to be there,” Trump said.
Not all battleground Republicans see distancing themselves from the president as a viable strategy.
“President Trump is an independent thinker. And what really deeply disturbs me is a lot of my colleagues are kind of trying to distance themselves from the president for political purposes which I think is dumb,” GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin told CNN.
Even before this week’s striking GOP defections, many Republicans in battleground races have sought to present daylight between themselves and the president. While Trump has called the issue of affordability a “hoax,” they speak directly about lowering costs. Some have pushed back on his escalation of a trade war with Canada. And they have found more local issues where they can claim the mantle of independence.
During a recent debate, Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani touted his vote earlier this year to override Trump’s veto of a water infrastructure bill. “That takes some courage,” Ciscomani said.
Earlier this month, Nunn said he was direct in his criticism of some of the administration’s decisions on this front in a private meeting with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and even adding he brought those concerns directly to Trump at a dinner hosted at the White House for battleground Republicans.
An especially revealing example has unfolded in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, where the GOP nominee, Brandon Herrera, started pushing back months ago against the administration’s plans to build a border wall in Big Bend National Park. He met with administration officials, held a community forum about the construction and attended a rally against it at the Texas Capitol where he declared “nobody” wants it.
The administration paused the project last month. An aide to Herrera’s campaign credited the administration with having been “consistently receptive … rather than being obstinate.”
The administration appears to be especially understanding of GOP anxiety around the war. Vice President JD Vance has struck an accommodating tone about the war’s political peril, recently telling GOP lawmakers they need to “level” with voters about their frustrations.
“Even if you don’t agree with us on every issue, the other party is consumed by craziness,” the vice president said during a podcast taping Tuesday, echoing his speech at last week’s midterm convention in Dallas.
Vance recently campaigned with Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, who’s in a surprisingly competitive race in his solidly red state. Marshall recently wrote the administration pleading for relief from rising diesel prices – a product of the war – calling it “a sudden and largely unforeseen cost shock.”
GOP Rep. Tom Barrett of Michigan voted for the third time to limit Trump’s Iran war powers in late July, but just four days later, Barrett stood at Trump’s side during a rally in his own Michigan battleground district, basking in the president’s endorsement and sending back kind words of his own.
Trump’s handling of the war remains deeply unpopular across the country. A recent Quinnipiac University survey found that voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of the situation in Iran by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
Barrett is an outlier among GOP lawmakers, even those in tough races. Most have stood by Trump over the war, gambling that voters will accept economic pain if it means Iran is prevented from obtaining nuclear weapons.
That’s not to say Trump always make it easy on Republicans. He veered off their preferred message in recent weeks by renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America. He also floated renaming New Mexico as “New America,” putting a top GOP recruit for a House seat there, Greg Cunningham, in an awkward spot. Cunningham downplayed it as “satire” while Democrats pounced.
“It’s not that they’re pushing us politically or demanding loyalty on certain things, they’re just doing things without consideration of how it will impact certain districts,” said one Republican operative working on a competitive House race.
Even when Trump has been his most outright upset with Republican lawmakers this year, he hasn’t followed through. Back in February, Trump threatened to primary anyone who voted against him to effectively repeal his tariffs on Canada. That public posturing did not seem to reflect the behind-the-scenes dynamics. Speaker Mike Johnson said at the time that Trump was “not upset” with House Republicans who have voted to curb his executive authority on tariffs, and that “he understands what is going on.”
There were six Republicans who defied Trump on that vote, and GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, an outlier in his long-running personal feud with the president, was the only one to receive a primary challenge.
A major example in Maine
Trump’s recent escalation of his trade war with Canada has been especially trying for Sen. Susan Collins, seeking her sixth term in a northern border state – one that Trump lost in 2024 by seven points.
Collins has opposed a handful of Trump nominees, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; voted against the president’s signature law last year, and has voted multiple times to rein in the emergency powers he has used to issue tariffs.
Recently, Collins successfully sought tariff exemptions for goods including road salt and cement. Collins’ Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, sarcastically thanked her and asked, “What about everything else?”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) acknowledged this week that candidates may diverge with Trump on trade, telling reporters that candidates will “have to handle … that issue in a way that makes sense for their individual states.”
“Senator Collins has worked with five different Presidents throughout her Senate tenure and she has taken the same approach with each of them including President Trump,” Collins campaign spokeswoman Blake Kernen said in a statement. “When she agrees with an effort she will support it; when she disagrees, she does not hesitate to oppose it and to advocate for what she believes is the right outcome for Maine and for America.”
Vance has visited Maine twice in recent months, and each time, Collins has skipped his appearances, citing scheduling conflicts.
That has not stopped Vance from praising the longtime blue-state incumbent – and her independent streak.
“She sometimes makes my job just a little bit harder,” Vance said last month in Brewer. “But she makes it harder because she is coming to work every single day and fighting not for a political party or not for any abstraction. … She fights for the great people of Maine.”