{"id":44518,"date":"2026-05-16T14:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T19:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/?p=44518"},"modified":"2026-05-29T21:32:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T02:32:16","slug":"the-2026-senate-campaign-updates-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/05\/16\/the-2026-senate-campaign-updates-14\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2026 Senate Campaign: Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

PRESSURE CONTINUES TO BUILD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those ties that bind and bind and bind<\/em>:<\/p>\n

With gas prices continuing to surge, more than 8 in 10 Americans said pain at the pump is putting a strain on their household budgets \u2014 and a strong majority blames President Trump, according to the latest NPR\/PBS News\/Marist poll.<\/p>\n

The poll also found that Trump is more unpopular than he ever has been, and he faces major declines with key groups since being sworn in for a second term. Most Americans said the economy isn’t working for them, and the war in Iran \u2014 which has directly led to those higher gas prices \u2014 continues to grow more unpopular.<\/p>\n

Those challenges have given Democrats a distinct advantage in the midterm elections. Six months from when votes will be counted this November, Democrats lead by 10 points on the congressional ballot test. The ballot test asks which party’s candidate they would vote for if congressional elections took place today. [NPR<\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

CNBC<\/strong><\/em> reports<\/a> on inflation: The\u00a0consumer price index<\/a>\u00a0rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.6% for the month, putting the one-year pace at 3.8%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday<\/em>. For those of us who remember the Carter years, 3.8% annual inflation is not awful; but it’s quite upsetting for the common citizen today. Signs for future inflation hint at worse to come, if you believe Belle of the Ranch<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

CNN<\/strong><\/em> has a reinforcing poll<\/a>: … Trump\u2019s approval rating stands at 30% on the economy, a career low.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Trump Administration’s strategy? For long-term residents of the United States, it comes as no surprise: Lies<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As April got underway, Donald Trump delivered an address to the nation about the war with Iran and took a moment to comment on the state of the economy. The president said that Americans are currently enjoying \u201cthe strongest\u201d economic conditions \u201cin history\u201d (a spectacularly wrong assertion) and that there\u2019s \u201cno inflation.\u201d As the month came to an end, Peter Navarro, the White House\u2019s top trade adviser, similarly boasted on Fox Business, \u201cInflation is going down.\u201d [Maddowblog<\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All of this increases the pressure most or all GOP candidates are feeling, as they take some of the blame for economic mismanagement by supporting President Trump. Will the GOP<\/strong> Senators and candidates competing for the Senate break ranks sooner rather than later, as this Politico<\/strong><\/em> article suggests<\/a>? Or will their fear of being primaried hold them back until the primaries have passed? The latter seems a reasonable strategy.<\/p>\n

… CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY<\/strong><\/p>\n

As in, No battle plan survives first contact <\/em>…<\/p>\n

In this case, the left had feared that the SAVE Act<\/strong> would be used to pressure Democratic voters to not vote in November.<\/p>\n

Exactly two months ago, the president used his social media platform\u00a0to promote a far-right legislative proposal<\/a>\u00a0that he called the Save America Act, which would make it harder for voters to register to vote, make it harder for voters to cast ballots and, for some reason, would also impose new discriminatory measures targeting transgender Americans. His March 8 missive was one of several online items related to the bill, except this one included a unique vow. [Steve Benen, Maddowblog<\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To drive the point home:<\/p>\n

\u201cI, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed,\u201d\u00a0Trump wrote<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But, as we all know, a picture Donald J. Trump is the very emblem of the Inconstancy Movement<\/em>[2]<\/a><\/sup>, and The New Republic<\/strong><\/em> reports<\/a> the SAVE Act<\/strong> is stuck in Senate. President Trump continues to sign bills, abating the pressure on the Senate to pass what the President thinks is one of his most important tools for winning in November.<\/p>\n

The point is that the Senate is not entirely submissive to the will of President Trump. This can be seen both negatively and positively, of course; when the Senate GOP<\/strong> caucus continues to make ideologically-driven decisions that repulse most voters and appear to be based on misperceptions of reality, independents will recoil, while the Senate GOP caucus rebuffing the President may improve their standing.<\/p>\n

But Trump’s control cracking isn’t good news for the far-right extremist squad.<\/p>\n

AND THE LEFT HAS GASTRIC PRESSURES AS WELL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Department of Transportation<\/strong> Secretary Pete Buttigieg (D) is demonstrating how the Democrats are feeling their own internal pressure:<\/p>\n

Endorsements are piling up in the\u00a0race for Connecticut\u2019s 1st Congressional District<\/a> as [77 year old] U.S. Rep. John Larson and his three Democratic challengers seek to piece together critical support ahead of Monday\u2019s nominating convention.<\/p>\n

That scramble kicked off Thursday morning as former Hartford mayor\u00a0Luke Bronin announced the endorsement<\/a>\u00a0he secured from Pete Buttigieg, the former U.S. secretary of Transportation and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. [Hartford Courant<\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With a fracture across age, this could be a threat to wise leadership in both<\/em> houses of the Federal Legislature, because wisdom is not a randomly distributed attribute of individuals, but a hoped-for result of years of learning and living; naturally, the oldsters have more opportunity to develop it than youngsters.<\/p>\n

Balancing that is an oldster’s growing investment in the status quo<\/em>, in having put so much time, energy, and wealth into a given system that it seems foolish to abandon it when it might be time to do exactly that.<\/p>\n

Piling on, as this metaphor dissolves under the weight of reality, is the partially imaginary bond between the young voters and the young challengers, or, in some cases, young incumbents. Such enthusiasm can generate blindness to economic observations. For instance, now-Mayor Mamdani of New York City promised during his campaign to implement rent control<\/em><\/a>. The price of rent control is that it makes the market for apartments far less attractive and thus discourages apartment construction, which then contributes to the reputation of such districts as being unlivable.<\/p>\n

Will old voters vote for young candidates, especially if they are spouting what appears to be foolish proposals? How about the reverse? That’s the potential problem for Democrats.<\/p>\n

THEN THERE’S THE POLLSTERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

This has been the week of dubious pollsters, it seems. I’ll be citing a few, especially for primary polling, but it’s at my discretion.<\/p>\n

IN THE CENTER CIRCLE: AND THEN THE PRANCING PONIES CAME OUT RIDING ALIENS FROM MARS!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wait for it, wait for it … ooops, the aliens canceled. Here’s a pointer to previous news, instead<\/a>.<\/p>\n