One in four Trump voters say Republican candidates should break with the president to improve their chances in November midterms
One in four Americans who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 now say Republican candidates should distance themselves from the president to improve their chances of winning in November’s midterm elections, according to the latest POLITICO Poll conducted by independent polling firm PF Global.
The divide is significantly wider among Trump voters who do not identify with the MAGA movement. On issues including the economy, trade and tariffs, immigration, data centers and the Iran war, non-MAGA Trump voters were roughly twice as likely as MAGA voters to say Republican candidates should break with the president.
Trump nevertheless retains strong support among his core base. More than two-thirds of MAGA voters said Republican candidates should remain aligned with him across all of the issues tested, leaving GOP campaigns to balance the risk of losing less committed Trump voters against alienating the party’s most loyal base.
Several Republican candidates have already begun putting distance between themselves and individual Trump policies. Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers has called for an end to the tariff war with Canada, while Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson has urged an end to the Iran war as rising fuel costs become a major campaign issue.
The poll comes less than a month before the November 3 midterms, with Trump facing growing dissatisfaction over the economy and the Iran war. A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week found 40% of Republicans disapproved of his handling of the economy, while 57% said prices were rising faster than their wages.
