Midterm pressures threaten GOP unity

The pivot from primary season to the looming general election could put GOP leaders in a bind as Republicans running in battleground districts grow more willing to buck them and President Trump in an effort to appeal to a broad swath of voters.

Republicans are seeking to put themselves in the strongest political position possible ahead of November, eager to defy the historical trend of the president’s party suffering losses in the midterms. That also means vulnerable members are increasingly focused on burnishing their own brands and avoiding politically risky votes that could alienate swing voters back home and give their opponents ammunition.

The dynamic comes at a particularly challenging moment for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who is racing to pass a third party-line spending bill that could include defense funding, fraud prevention and healthcare reform in the weeks ahead, as well as a slate of other GOP-focused legislative priorities — all of which he will need near-unanimous support from his conference.

“For me, it’s very simple. I represent my district, I always have, I always will. Sometimes that’s going to be in support, sometimes that’ll be in opposition to the president’s policies. It all depends on the issue and how it impacts our district. So it’s really a district-by-district thing,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who has previously bucked Trump on issues including healthcare and foreign policy.

Fitzpatrick told reporters last month that, “Nobody here, no president, no party leader, is going to tell me how to vote. It’s going to be the people back home that dictate that.”

Trump’s iron grip on the GOP base has been evident throughout a slate of high-profile primaries. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), as well as Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), have lost their races to Trump-backed challengers.

But as the calendar shifts from primaries to the general election, Republicans in Congress — particularly those in purple districts — must worry less........

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