The 2026 primaries are now officially underway, with early voting beginning today in Texas and last week in North Carolina.
In both states, Republicans find themselves somewhere they never expected to be this time last year: Playing defense in hard-fought Senate races.
Inside Washington has reported before about how a Republican advantage in the 2026 Senate map has seemingly vanished over the course of a year.
Part of that is due to a familiar dynamic. The party in control of the White House often loses seats during the midterm election cycle. Democrats staved off a red wave in 2022, but still found themselves on the back foot.
As we've noted, however, the other reason for the Republicans' woes this year is Donald Trump's own meddling in party politics. He's trashed Republican senators openly on Truth Social and in the case of Texas is refusing to endorse Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican closely aligned with (and backed by) Senate GOP leadership, for re-election.
It's practically the same story in North Carolina, where Republicans are now in danger of losing a Senate seat held by GOP Sen. Thom Tillis after the senator declared that he wouldn't stand for re-election. He, too, suffered a public severing of ties with the president last year and was in danger of facing a primary opponent.
Today, Inside Washington takes another look at Cornyn's race and how Trump's power plays are stretching the Republicans thin.
Read more here:
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