{"id":44932,"date":"2026-06-22T10:09:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/?p=44932"},"modified":"2026-06-22T10:09:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:09:04","slug":"the-2026-senate-campaign-updates-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/06\/22\/the-2026-senate-campaign-updates-21\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2026 Senate Campaign: Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

ADMIN NOTE<\/strong><\/p>\n

No more brevity, as the brace came off as anticipated, and the surgeon was pleased with the healing progress. I think I’m back to typing at my old speed, which is no great shakes but still better than hunt & peck<\/em>, aka the seek and ye shall find<\/em> technique, as my Dad used to call it.<\/p>\n

VALUING INDEPENDENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>For those voters who understand and value the importance of Senators being independent of Party directives, also known as the gibberish of President Trump<\/em>, in our form of government, it may be cheering to see Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) orchestrating some counter-moves to President Trump’s foolishness with regard to Trump’s War<\/em>, tariffs, and nominations.<\/p>\n

As to the latter topic, Trump’s designation of Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI<\/strong>) certainly needed a rebuke, since the only qualification Pulte possesses is championship-level sycophancy<\/em> towards Trump; he has no national intelligence experience. Since Trump values loyalty and physical appearance (“right out of central casting”), not merit or competency, above all else, he selected Pulte, who has used his previous and still-current position of Director of Federal Housing Finance Agency<\/strong> to attack Trump’s political enemies, such as now-former Fed chairman Powell.<\/p>\n

Thune wants a proper DNI<\/strong>, as do the Democrats, and reauthorization of the controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act<\/em> (FISA<\/strong>) is being held up as a leverage tool. Presumably, word reached Trump that Pulte was unacceptable, and persuaded him to nominate US Attorney for SDNY<\/em><\/strong> Jay Clayton, but then he withdrew the nomination and is letting Pulte run the agency until the Senate approves a voter ID bill of which Trump is overly fond.<\/a><\/p>\n

So far as I know, Clayton also lacks qualifications required by law, so this all may be a moot machination. However, Clayton has not caught my attention for stunts on par with Pulte’s clumsy bluster.<\/p>\n

All that is to note that GOP<\/strong><\/em> Senators up for reelection do seem, at least in part, to be trying to separate themselves from the incompetent President.<\/p>\n

ALIENATION?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Still, they need to worry about alienated voting groups, like this:<\/p>\n

The last time President Trump faced a midterm election, in 2018, congressional Republicans were dragged down by his unpopularity and lost more than three dozen House seats.<\/p>\n

But even in defeat, the bottom never truly fell out for the Republicans that year \u2014 the party actually gained ground in the Senate \u2014 as working-class white voters largely kept their faith in Mr. Trump\u2019s economic know-how.<\/p>\n

Today, that once-deep reservoir of good will has largely evaporated.<\/p>\n

Blue-collar white voters are, for the first time, seriously doubting Mr. Trump\u2019s handling of the economy. A review of polling by The New York Times shows an extraordinary swing on that issue among white voters without college degrees between his first midterm election and now. [The New York Times<\/a><\/strong>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’ve seen similar reports for farmers as well. The relevant GOP<\/strong><\/em> Senators may have to campaign aggressively in rural areas, and have prominent disagreements with President Trump, to break that association of the President and his persistent foolishness with the Senators. But what to do for blue collar workers in general is not so clear. There’s little time for cleaning up the economy.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW THE TRAIL OF BREADCRUMBS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s some<\/a>.<\/p>\n