Candidates Split With Trump as Party Power Holds

Four Republican Senate candidates went on national television Sunday and distanced themselves from President Trump on tariffs, Russia and fuel prices. Two weeks and two days before the Nov. 3 midterms, they delivered a blunt message on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan": pocketbook politics are pushing GOP candidates toward independence.

Michele Tafoya, the Republican Senate candidate in Minnesota, put it plainly. "When Trump is right, I will work with him. When he's wrong, I will stand up for Minnesota." Representative Ashley Hinson of Iowa supported lower fuel costs but rejected one way of getting them. "We need to lower gas prices in this country. We need to lower diesel prices, but I don't think we need to be making a deal with Russia to do it."

Mike Rogers, running in Michigan, took direct aim at the tariff fight. "Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now." Maine Senator Susan Collins criticized the planning behind the Iran conflict. "I agree that the president did not have a good plan. He should have anticipated the closure of the Strait of Hormuz."

Prices and Tariffs Weigh on the Map

CBS political correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns said Republican sources fear Trump is "underwater on the economy," citing tariffs and the Iran war's effect on diesel and gas prices. She said Trump faces a tricky task: turning out voters for down-ballot Republicans while showing little deference to Congress.

That pressure is reaching reliably Republican territory. Huey-Burns said no Democrat has won a Senate race in Kansas since 1932. Yet a cattle farmer who backs Trump told her he's considering a vote for Democrat Adam Hamilton for the first time. His reason: the administration's decision to allow beef imports. Huey-Burns said Hamilton calls himself a former Republican and isn't running on the national party brand. Administration policies, she said, are affecting constituencies that tend to vote for Trump.

Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota made the case from a rancher's perspective. He criticized Trump's decision to import foreign beef without tariffs, saying it threatened U.S. food production and discouraged ranchers. He doubted Argentine beef would bring down grocery prices and said it would hurt cattle market prices. Cramer noted that Chinese and Brazilian interests own a third or more of U.S. meatpacking, while ranchers already face higher input costs.

Ohio and the Trump Question

Brennan described Ohio as reliably Republican, though the broadcast portrayed its gubernatorial and Senate races as competitive. Congressman Mike Turner said Trump endorsed him and that he'd appeared at a rally with the president, but he drew a clear line. "I don't run with the president. I don't run from the president." He said he has "my own agenda," and that Congress has pushed back against the administration.

Turner pointed to local results. He said jobs had doubled "both inside and outside the fence" at his local base, and that the VA had created senior housing. Trump committed to sign legislation restoring Delphi salaried pensions, Turner said; the change would affect more than 5,000 people in his community. Brennan noted the bill hasn't passed yet.

Brennan also cited a Fox poll showing six in 10 respondents were extremely concerned about government corruption, along with an AP poll in which six in 10 adults believed Trump was illegally profiting from the presidency or doing something unethical. She quoted The Columbus Dispatch, which refused to endorse the Republican Senate candidate because of the "abject failure" of congressional Republicans to stop visible corruption, calling them "almost entirely spineless." Turner brushed off the criticism. The Columbus paper isn't his local paper, he said. He's from Dayton, and voters judge candidates individually, not as a slate.

Texas and the Turnout Math

CBS's Anthony Salvanto described a Texas poll showing Democrat Talarico and Republican Paxton tied at 51-49, with early voting set to begin the next day. Talarico performed better with independents and people who said prices strain them financially. On character, 59 percent of likely voters said Paxton lacks the right personal character to serve as senator, compared with 45 percent for Talarico.

The partisan wall still holds in some places. Ed O'Keefe said only 5 percent of Texas Republicans are willing to vote for Talarico, while Salvanto said 9 percent of habitual Republican voters are considering an exception. Shifting 200,000 people away from their usual voting behavior, Salvanto said, takes substantial money and time. Huey-Burns said Talarico would need a coalition no Democrat has built in more than 30 years. Trump has visited Texas three times in nearly three weeks to help Paxton, whom she called "wildly unpopular."

Salvanto rated Ohio and Alaska toss-ups, Iowa leaning Republican but competitive, and Michigan and Maine toss-ups Democrats must hold. CBS estimates give Democrats an edge for the House; they need four seats for the Senate. Republicans hit hard by inflation, he said, might stay home rather than vote Democratic.

A Democratic Platform Under Scrutiny

Florida Democratic nominee Angie Nixon said she joined the Democratic Socialists of America in June. Brennan noted that Nixon's platform calls for Medicare for all, a national rent-stabilization standard, a higher federal minimum wage, abolishing ICE and a 5 percent annual wealth tax on billionaires. Nixon said she'd work across the aisle with anyone who puts working people first. She accused Republican Ashley Moody of enriching herself by $2 million through stock trading; Moody denied wrongdoing.

Nixon also described fundraising friction with her own party. "Folks are a little gun-shy because Vice President Harris lost as a black woman, and so people are very hesitant in terms of funding black women in the South."

Russia Sanctions and Energy

Cramer said he shares colleagues' opposition to Trump's decision to waive sanctions under the Lindsey Graham bill, and expects the pause to be short. European allies bought Russian energy for decades and should stop, he said, adding that he hoped Trump would impose tariffs on China. Brennan noted that India and China are among the largest purchasers who could be affected.

Cramer supported Senator Roger Wicker's proposal to expand Ukraine's access to Starshield if Kyiv stops striking Russian energy assets. He also backed all three of Zelenskyy's requests, including a license to jointly produce Patriot interceptors. He supported an investigation into the interruption of Starlink, saying it could have been a technical glitch.

Security Concerns

Huey-Burns said envelopes containing suspicious substances went to 36 lawmakers and election officials, with many intercepted before they reached Capitol Hill offices. Federal law enforcement is investigating and hasn't identified a suspect. Threats against lawmakers and their families have risen by more than 50 percent in the past year, she said, comparing the concern with the anthrax scare 25 years ago.

Why This Matters:

When candidates in four states break with a president of their own party within weeks of an election, voters' immediate concerns are clear: fuel, groceries and cattle prices. Tariffs and the Iran conflict are showing up in household costs, testing loyalty even in places Republicans have held for generations. The party faces a turnout risk. Salvanto noted that inflation-battered Republicans may simply stay home. For markets and producers, the beef-import and tariff fights show how trade decisions ripple through farms, ranches and meatpackers. The envelopes sent to lawmakers bring a separate warning: rising threats against public servants strain the institutions that make orderly elections possible.