Original article can be found here.

(The Center Square) – Republican candidates in redrawn congressional districts across the country have appeared to distance themselves from President Donald Trump in recent weeks.

Across the country, 10 states successfully implemented new congressional maps through both legislative action and judicial litigation. As many as 13 congressional districts that were redrawn are expected to favor Republican candidates.

However, polls continue to indicate that Democrats are expected to win a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Decision Desk Headquarters predicted Democrats have a 70% chance of winning the House, compared to Republicans with 30%.

“Democrats not only achieve an average gain of 13 seats in the states with unchanged boundaries, they also gain an average of two seats across the states that redistricted,” said Geoffrey Skelley, chief elections analyst for Decision Desk HQ.

Congressional candidates in several districts appear to recognize that distance from the president may serve their campaigns. In Florida’s 22nd congressional district, which includes large portions of the Tampa city limits, Republican Mike Beltran notably removed an image of him and his family alongside Trump and references to his support for the president’s agenda.

“He is one of only seven Republican legislators in the entire state of Florida who never endorsed Ron DeSantis for President, standing firm with Trump from the moment he came down the escalator in 2015. That wasn’t a political calculation. It was conviction,” a now removed excerpt from his website reads.

Beltran is running against incumbent Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., in a district that includes larger portions outside of the Tampa city limits than before. In Florida’s 22nd congressional district, which includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Askar removed a mention in which he branded himself a “Trump conservative” after winning the primary election.

Askar’s website also removed a picture of himself with the president, and he rewrote a paragraph that mentioned Trump.

Askar changed a passage that read “I’ll work with President Trump to keep building the American economy,” in favor of “I will work to sponsor and pass pro-American legislation to keep building the American economy.”

The Center Square verified both changes were made to the candidate’s websites. Beltran and Askar did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment on the changes made to their websites.

Across the country, candidates in tight races have increasingly distanced themselves from the president amid rising gas prices due to the U.S. military conflict in Iran. Last week, Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, broke with Republicans in Congress to vote in favor of a war powers resolution to rein in Trump’s military operations in the region.

The pair of Iowa Republicans are running for reelection in House races that are critical for maintaining control of the chamber. As members in Congress and candidates appear to turn from Trump, the electoral picture for Republicans looks grim.

“Republicans’ mapmaking edge looks less and less likely to overcome the gravitational pull of larger electoral forces,” Skelley said.

Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, who is running for Senate, called for the end of the conflict in Iran and expressed frustration over rising gas prices on Monday.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,” Hinson wrote on social media. “We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices.”

Even so, Republicans in many U.S. House races are relying on Trump’s endorsement and continued popularity to remain central to their messaging.

Brent Taylor, of Tennessee’s ninth congressional district, continues to associate with Trump in campaign mailers and online materials.

“Brent Taylor stands proudly with President Trump and the America First agenda,” Taylor’s website reads. “He’s running to deliver trusted, conservative leadership and fight every day for the people of Middle and West Tennessee.”

Additionally, in Texas, where Republicans are expecting to gain as many as four seats in the U.S. House, candidates proudly associate themselves with the president. Eric Flores, Jace Yarbrough, Tano Tijerna and Carlos De La Cruz openly associate with the president in advertisements and online.

“President Trump has secured our border in record time, and in Congress I will fight to keep it that way,” De La Cruz told a crowd at the Republican midterm convention. He is aiming to flip a Democratic district in San Antonio.

Candidates across the country are tackling Trump’s sinking popularity in various ways. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., released a TV ad criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration policies last week.

“The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today. You can be for immigration, but Lincoln was for slavery and Reagan was for communism,” Salazar said. “I’m not talking about giving them amnesty. I’m talking about giving them a dignified life in this promised land.”

Trump is expected to travel in support of Republican congressional candidates across the country until the November elections in an effort to drum up support for candidates and motivate an electorate that appears increasingly cautious of him.

“I’m asking you to pretend I’m on the ballot,” Trump told a crowd in Dallas at the first-ever Republican midterm national convention on Wednesday night. “I’m on the ballot, just one more time.”

Original article