There are 23 vulnerable GOP representatives in 2018. Only 2 want Trump campaigning for them.
In the 2018 midterms, there are 23 House Republicans who will be seeking re-election in districts Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Though incumbent advantage is significant, such recent history makes these representatives vulnerable.
It does not, however, make them open to President Trump's presence on the campaign trail. Axios contacted the offices of all 23 and found just two — Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (Calif.) and Carlos Curbelo (Fla.) — who said they'd accept Trump stumping for them. Of the other 21, most ignored or dodged the question, but four explicitly said they did not want Trump's help.
"We have not requested the president's assistance and we don't plan on requesting his assistance," said the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), one of those who preemptively turned Trump down. And Curbelo's office, though willing to have Trump involved, offered a tepid statement mentioning the representative's past appearances with both Trump and Obama. It concluded, "Anyone who wants to support Carlos' efforts and endorse his bipartisan approach to public service is welcome to do so."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Will Trump’s $12 billion bailout solve the farm crisis?Today’s Big Question Agriculture sector says it wants trade, not aid
-
‘City leaders must recognize its residents as part of its lifeblood’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
10 upcoming albums to stream during the winter chillThe Week Recommends As the calendar turns to 2026, check out some new music from your favorite artists
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
