The Washington Post: Republicans struggle to run with Trump but against his trade wars
President Trump’s trade war has handed Democratic candidates a cudgel in their effort to retake the Senate, forcing their GOP opponents into uncomfortable decisions about how closely to align with a polarizing president.
Democratic candidates in Tennessee, North Dakota, Missouri and elsewhere have campaigned on their opposition to Trump’s trade efforts and warned of coming economic damage. Several have engaged in high-profile events with sympathetic figures hurt by Trump’s tariffs, accusing their rivals of being complicit in the president’s policy.
The tariffs, and Democratic messaging concerning them, present GOP candidates with a complicated calculus: stand with Trump and support a policy that may threaten their constituents’ livelihoods or break ranks on trade with a president who is strongly backed by the party’s voters.
Read the full story here.