Some Republicans in Congress are starting to get concerned that their best bet for re-election might be to abandon President Donald Trump, as his approval ratings continue to hover below 40 percent in most polls, the Washington Examiner reported Monday.
The continued headlines about the investigation of Trump campaign's ties with Russia, the Republican legislation mired in Congress, and the perception of a chaotic White House going from crisis to crisis has some Republicans up for election next year thinking about their options.
Some see a divide emerging between Republicans from safe seats and those from competitive districts, with the latter group more willing to bolt.
One consultant advising centrist GOP campaigns told the Examiner that with Trump having such low approval ratings in their districts, GOP congressmen there have been "trying to manage him, but they're fed up. He didn't win their districts, lost them badly. ... Coming off this, doing a crisis a minute with Trump, they have no reason to stick with Trump, and they won't."
"It's frustrating for me as a conservative. We were told if we won the House and got our speaker in there, all of these wonderful things would happen and that wasn't true," former Ted Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler told the Huffington Post.
However, other Republicans see it differently, saying it will be very difficult for a congressman to meaningfully distance himself from a sitting president in his own party. Further, during the election campaign, many, including the Republican elite, gave Trump little chance.
But despite several controversies, his predicted demise never happened, so many say it might not be wise to bet against him now.
By this way of thinking, there is still enough time before the midterm elections next year to produce legislative victories, with one GOP operative saying that "The single greatest thing any member can do to get re-elected is produce results to run on. All of the separation in world is not going to make a difference if you accomplish nothing."
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