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Browse major news stories and see what officials have said.

Sep 27, 2026· Updated

Eleven Weeks Out, Republicans Start Saying Out Loud That the Iran War Is Going to Cost Them the Midterms — "You People Are Living in a Cave"

With the November 2026 midterms about eleven weeks away, Republicans who have spent months declining to criticize President Trump's Iran war began describing it publicly as a political emergency for their party. Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), one of Trump's closest Senate allies, told reporters in Washington on Monday, August 17, 2026, that the war has become a "mess," that "this situation in Iran is causing repercussions like you can't imagine," and that Republicans were "scared to death about the midterms." Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), a frontline member in a competitive district, pressed for the war to be wrapped up. Speaker Mike Johnson, campaigning in Virginia Beach with Rep. Jen Kiggans on the same day, volunteered the connection between the war and pump prices — "The Iran conflict has been the cause, of course, of gas prices going up" — while promising a "new phase" that would bring them back down. The anxiety is not new inside the conference. Days earlier, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of Senate Republican leadership, described a "fatigue factor," and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he wished the president "were more clear about what his objectives are." Democrats are pressing the advantage: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), on the ballot in November, told an Atlanta rally that there is "something uniquely despicable about lying a nation into war." Polling has been consistently bad for the war — a late-July Quinnipiac survey found 60 percent of voters opposed U.S. military action against Iran — and gas prices and oil have climbed as the Strait of Hormuz blockade has dragged on. What has changed is that Republicans in cycle are now saying so on the record.

“I would like to see him give a nationwide address. Or let Rubio and General Caine do it and explain why we went into Iran, why we're winning, and how we're going to get out.”
John Kennedy (R-LA) · Sep 27, 2026

Sep 20, 2026· Updated

A Trump-Backed Miami Republican Tells Him in a New Ad His Immigration Enforcement Has "Gone Too Far" — Trump Answers "I Got Her Elected. Without Me She Wouldn't Have Gotten Elected"

Six weeks before the midterms, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), who represents a 74% Hispanic Miami-area district, released a campaign ad warning President Trump that "some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far" and that the Hispanic voters who backed him in 2024 "feel betrayed." She cited a statistic that half of those detained in July had no criminal record and urged the White House to "be careful what your advisers are telling you." Trump responded dismissively on Friday, September 18, calling Salazar "a nice person" while crediting himself for her election ("Without me she wouldn't have gotten elected") and defending his enforcement posture. Salazar repeated her warning two days later in a nationally televised Sunday show interview, again urging Trump to "preserve that fortune" he built with Hispanic voters. The public break is one of the most direct challenges to Trump's immigration crackdown from a sitting Republican ahead of the midterms, and comes as other battleground-district GOP members have quietly shifted their own messaging.

“Please preserve that fortune that you have brought to the party.”
Maria Salazar (R-FL) · Sep 20, 2026

Sep 17, 2026· Updated

The Republican Nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner Posts a Photo of Asian American Students Cheering at a Longhorns Game and Writes "The Problem Is Now Obviously Far Worse Than Anyone Imagined" — John Cornyn Asks Whether Republicans Will "Look the Other Way," the Texas House Speaker Says It "Crossed the Line," and Greg Abbott Says Only "That Is Not My Message"

On Sunday, September 13, 2026, Bo French — the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner and a former Tarrant County GOP chair — posted a photo of seemingly Asian American students celebrating in the stands at Texas's comeback win over Ohio State the night before, writing: "I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined." He added that the scene showed "how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners." Sen. John Cornyn called it racism and challenged other Republican officials to condemn it; French answered that Cornyn and "the other America Last losers are mad that Texas Republicans are starting to put America First." Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, former Speaker Dade Phelan and state Reps. Jared Patterson and Drew Darby — who chairs the committee that oversees the Railroad Commission and warned that the Legislature's trust in the agency "can be revisited" — also condemned the post, while state Rep. Andy Hopper attacked Cornyn instead. Gov. Greg Abbott distanced himself without naming French. James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee, challenged his opponent Ken Paxton to "condemn this blatant racism," and Paxton answered that he condemns "racism in all its forms" before turning the charge on Talarico. French faces Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal on November 3.

“He's an embarrassment to the Republican Party, and he's going to drag the whole ticket down because of his racist comments. … I may just leave it blank.”
John Cornyn (R-TX) · Sep 17, 2026

A Sitting Democratic Senator Turns Up on the Screen at the Republican Midterm Convention — John Fetterman Introduces Dave McCormick, Says He Will "Work With President Trump," and Rejects "the Extremes and Socialism," While Three Pennsylvania Democrats Call Him Lazy and a "Benedict Arnold"

On the first night of the Republican Party's midterm convention in Dallas — September 9, 2026 — a one-minute video played on the arena screens in which Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), filmed standing in front of a steel mill, introduced his Pennsylvania colleague Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) as "a great American and friend." Fetterman said he would "work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life," and rebuked his own party's left flank: "I'm always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life." McCormick took the stage to ask the crowd, "How great is John Fetterman?" No sitting senator of the opposing party had appeared in a party convention program in modern memory, and the video immediately fueled speculation that Fetterman might switch parties. Fetterman issued a statement the next morning insisting he would not: "I'm a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party — and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on." Pennsylvania Democrats did not take it well. Rep. Chris Deluzio needled him for phoning it in, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta called him "Benedict Arnold, but lazy," and Rep. Brendan Boyle said the video proved a label he had applied a year earlier.

“I'm a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party — and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on.”
John Fetterman (D-PA) · Sep 10, 2026

Sep 10, 2026· Updated

Trump Convenes the First Midterm Convention in Modern History and at Least 45 House Republicans Say They Are Not Coming — the Ticket Is $25,000, the Nickname Is "Trumpapalooza," and the Vice President's Answer Is "We Don't Need a Congressman in a Tight Race to Be There"

The Republican National Committee has scheduled a two-day midterm convention in Dallas for September 9 and 10, 2026 — an event with no real precedent in modern American politics, informally called "Trumpapalooza" inside the party. In the first days of September, Politico surveyed more than 70 House Republicans and at least 45 said they would not attend; NOTUS separately found swing-state members skipping it. Dozens more were undecided. The stated reasons vary: House members are being asked to contribute $25,000 apiece, and many said they had district events, fundraisers, or 25th-anniversary September 11 commemorations already on the calendar. The unstated one is the calendar itself — the convention lands eight weeks before a midterm in which the president's approval rating hit record lows in August, and members in competitive seats have to decide whether standing next to him on a Dallas stage helps. Speaker Mike Johnson said some members simply need to be in their districts. Vice President JD Vance told reporters the ticket does not need marginal members in the room. Sen. Mike Rounds, up for reelection in South Dakota, said he would be home talking to constituents. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who is going, said the party's record "is just not getting out." Rep. Tim Burchett said he had just gotten the bill.

“If you love Mexico so much, get your ass over there. I'll buy you the plane ticket.”
JD Vance (R-OH) · Sep 10, 2026

Trump Calls Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie "LOSERS ALL" in a Late-Night Post — and Greene Answers That He Is the "Trojan Horse" and She Wishes She Had "Never Supported Him"

At roughly 10:30 p.m. on Friday, August 21, 2026 — hours after Republicans from cattle country spent the day attacking his decision to waive tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef — President Trump posted a long Truth Social message attacking three of the most prominent figures in the breakaway "America First" faction that has been forming against him. "Tucker Carlson just met with Lightweight 'Former' Congressman, Thomas Massie, and Marjorie 'Traitor' Greene, LOSERS ALL!" the post began. Trump wrote that Carlson's "Views" had "fallen through the floor," called him "totally irrelevant" and "a very Low I.Q. individual," said Greene had gone "from Ultra Conservative to a Liberal 'Fool'" and described her as "a highly neurotic young woman," and called Massie "a failed politician, and a real JERK." He closed by mocking the idea of the three running together: "What a team this would be, THREE LOSERS, and a pocketful of change!" The post referred to a gathering at Carlson's home in Maine in early August. On August 1, Greene — who resigned her Georgia House seat in January and has since left the Republican Party — posted a photograph of herself at a table with Carlson, Massie and Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center who resigned in March over the Iran war. Greene wrote at the time: "We said no more foreign wars and we meant it and supported Donald Trump because he made that promise. But he's betrayed us all." Kent later said publicly that the group was trying to build a new anti-war movement and had tried to persuade Carlson to run for president in 2028. The White House answered that gathering by calling the participants "an embarrassing collection of mostly whiny turncoats." The responses to Trump's post came the next day and were sharper than the post itself. Greene wrote that Trump's "demeanor, name calling, absurd and reckless rhetoric is unbecoming of the office of the president" and that "at this point, he's no different than an internet troll," then went further than she previously had: "now as president he's been revealed to be the Trojan horse who enforces many of the policies he claimed to be against... I'm sorry I didn't see it earlier and wish I had never supported him." Massie tied the outburst directly to the week's news — the beef backlash, the national debt crossing $40 trillion, and the Iran war — and wrote that Trump "posted this because we are the three he should have listened to." The exchange matters because it is the sharpest public break yet between a sitting president and the media-and-movement wing that carried him, eleven weeks before a midterm election in which Trump's own party is already treating the Iran war and the cost of living as liabilities. Trump himself acknowledged the electoral risk in the post, writing that the faction "could probably take a couple of points away from whatever the Republican ticket happens to be."

“Trump’s getting roasted today for his disastrous beef policy, the debt hit $40 trillion because of his "big beautiful bill," he stepped-in-it in Iran, and he’s weeks away from failing his mid-terms in November. He posted this because we are the three he should have listened to.”
Thomas Massie (R-KY) · Aug 22, 2026

Wyoming Sends Harriet Hageman to a Near-Certain Senate Seat and Election-Denying Secretary of State Chuck Gray to Her House Seat — but Rejects Trump's Pick for Governor

Wyoming's August 18, 2026 primaries reshuffled the entire federal delegation of the country's reddest state, and split the difference on President Trump. Rep. Harriet Hageman, the state's lone House member and Trump's endorsed candidate, won the Republican nomination for retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis's open seat with roughly 65% of the vote against businessman Sam Mead. She will face Democrat James Byrd, a former state representative, in November. In her victory statement Hageman framed the race as a fight against "a rising tide of Marxists." Secretary of State Chuck Gray — a prominent election denier and Trump ally — won the crowded nine-way primary for Hageman's open at-large House seat with about 25% of the vote, ahead of conservative activist Steve Friess at 20%. Former Wyoming Freedom Caucus chairman John Bear, whose faction backed rivals, said "I don't think any of us anticipated this kind of loss." But in the governor's race, Trump's endorsement did not carry. State Sen. Eric Barlow, a Gillette rancher and former speaker of the Wyoming House, beat Trump-backed Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and Wyoming GOP-endorsed Brent Bien for the nomination to succeed retiring Gov. Mark Gordon. Barlow, who ran on a "we're running for Wyoming, not against anybody" message, credited a backlash to "a lot of out of state money and agendas." Degenfelder's loss was one of three Trump-endorsed primary defeats that night, pushing his 2026 cycle total to 12 — more than 2018, 2020 and 2024 combined.

“I don't think any of us anticipated this kind of loss.”
John Bear (R-WY) · Aug 19, 2026

Rep. Cory Mills Loses His Florida Primary by 13 Points While Under House Ethics Investigation — and Trump, Who Endorsed Him in February and Never Withdrew It, Says He Told Him to "Get Out of the Race"

Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) lost the Republican primary in Florida's 7th Congressional District on August 18, 2026 to Ryan Elijah, a former Fox 35 Orlando news anchor who entered the race late. Elijah took 46.9% to Mills's 34.4%, a margin of more than 13 points. Mills spent the cycle under an ethical cloud: a House Ethics Committee investigation into alleged dating violence and potential campaign-finance violations, an assault allegation, and an ex-girlfriend's claim that he threatened to release sexually explicit images and videos of her. Mills has denied wrongdoing and has never been charged. Four days before the primary, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters in Daytona Beach that he had not endorsed Mills and did not support him. President Trump endorsed Mills in February 2026 and never publicly rescinded it. The day after the loss, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had privately told Mills to quit the race, and gave Elijah his "Complete and Total Endorsement." Mills's defeat was one of three Trump-endorsed primary losses that night — along with Catalina Lauf in Florida's 19th District and Megan Degenfelder in Wyoming's governor primary — bringing his 2026 cycle total to 12, more than the 2018, 2020 and 2024 cycles combined.

“We now have a great candidate, Ryan Elijah, running in his place! Ryan stands for EVERYTHING MAGA, and is respected by ALL. He has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
Donald Trump (R-FL) · Aug 19, 2026

Trump’s Pick Byron Donalds Routs the DeSantis Camp by 20 Points to Win Florida’s Governor Primary — and Will Face David Jolly, the Republican Congressman Who Became a Democrat

On August 18, 2026, Florida Republicans nominated U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds for governor, handing President Trump's hand-picked candidate a victory of more than 20 points over a crowded field that included Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, the candidate widely understood to be Gov. Ron DeSantis's preferred successor. Donalds took roughly 48 percent of the Republican vote. DeSantis, who has an icy relationship with Donalds and whose wife Casey had been floated for the race, declined to endorse anyone before the primary, saying he was "not involved in any Primaries." On the Democratic side, former U.S. Rep. David Jolly — who represented Florida's 13th District as a Republican from 2014 to 2017 before leaving the party and registering as a Democrat — won his primary with about 61 percent. Jolly used his primary-night remarks to claim a cross-party "new coalition" and to attack Donalds as purchasable, saying Donalds "will sell his governorship for a buck." Donalds, who is seeking to become Florida's first Black governor, called for Republican unity and predicted Jolly would lose again in November. The Republican Governors Association, chaired by Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, congratulated Donalds the next day and attacked Jolly's party switch. The general election is November 3, 2026, for the seat term-limited Gov. DeSantis must vacate.

“Congratulations to Byron Donalds on his primary victory. He has the vision, experience, and the right plan for lowering costs, protecting law and order, and defending the American Dream. Hardworking families and the next generation of Floridians have a fighter on their side in Donalds. Democrats continue to prove they can't gain ground in Florida with David Jolly campaigning as a so-called moderate while voters know he's just another career politician they can't trust. From switching parties to promoting far-left woke policies like irreversible gender transition surgeries for minors, Florida voters will reject Jolly in November.”
Greg Gianforte (R-MT) · Aug 19, 2026

Aug 19, 2026· Updated

Mary Peltola Finishes First in Alaska's Senate Primary — Ahead of the Incumbent — and Dan Sullivan, Whose Ballot Line Was Shadowed by a Second Dan Sullivan, Says Democrats Tried to "Steal an Election"

Alaska's nonpartisan top-four primary on August 18, 2026 sent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola to a November general election that the Cook Political Report rates a toss-up. Peltola led on primary night with roughly 48 percent to Sullivan's 42.8 percent — a first-place finish for the challenger over a two-term incumbent, though Alaska's primary sends the top four candidates forward regardless of margin and Peltola led the 2024 House primary before losing that November. The race was dominated by the presence of a second Republican candidate named Dan Sullivan — a Petersburg man who filed as Dan J. Sullivan and drew 2.4 percent. Sen. Sullivan and President Trump called the candidacy a Democratic trick; Trump posted on Truth Social two days before the primary that "the Crooked, Radical Left Dumocrats have put up another man named 'Dan Sullivan'" and told voters on primary day to pick the incumbent. Peltola's campaign said it had no involvement with either Dan Sullivan. Peltola, who has outraised Sullivan roughly $18 million to $12 million and campaigns on "fish, family, freedom," attacked the senator's votes as service to "corporate greed" and to the reconciliation law she says pushed 10,000 Alaskans off Medicaid. Sullivan, who won Trump's endorsement, dismissed the primary-night numbers, renewed his objection to Alaska's ranked-choice system, and accused national Democrats and the Peltola campaign of complicity in trying to trick Alaska voters. Democrats need a net four seats to take the Senate.

“The Democratic Party is talking about "we care about fair elections." It's bulls---. The Democrats in D.C., the Peltola campaign, are complicit in trying to trick Alaskans.”
Dan Sullivan (R-AK) · Aug 19, 2026