{"id":46052,"date":"2026-10-13T18:49:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T23:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/?p=46052"},"modified":"2026-10-13T18:49:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T23:49:43","slug":"the-2026-senate-campaign-updates-44","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/10\/13\/the-2026-senate-campaign-updates-44\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2026 Senate Campaign: Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

DO ANCHORS INGEST FOOD AND GROW?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Pew Research Center<\/strong><\/em>, they do<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Three-in-ten Americans now approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, while 68% disapprove.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s approval rating has dropped substantially over the course of his second term \u2013 his current rating is comparable to the lowest rating of his first term (29% according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in the days between Jan. 6, 2021, and the end of his first term).<\/p>\n

Confidence in Trump\u2019s handling of several key issues, including the economy, foreign policy and immigration, is also lower than at the beginning of his term. Also, most Americans (69%) say they have little confidence in Trump to keep his business interests separate from his presidential decision-making.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>Republican candidates’ worst nightmare, in a phrase, is the Trumpian anchor around their necks. Still, they have three weeks to separate themselves from President Trump and hope for the best. I believe Congress is not in session until the green lands of post-election appear, so they can’t just impeach him and then beg forgiveness from the electorate.<\/p>\n

The Democrats’ nightmare? What much of the independents might call call the loony left<\/em>. The counterbalance? Former President Obama<\/strong>. The Republicans have no counter, as Presidents Trump and Bush were wretched failures.<\/p>\n

IT’S SO EASY TO SASHAY AWAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump is making it easy to walk away, too.<\/p>\n

\n

Even many who’ve come to expect Donald Trump to kowtow to Russia’s Vladimir Putin were taken aback on Friday afternoon, when the Republican president\u00a0announced an agreement<\/a>\u00a0to import Russian diesel fuel to the United States despite his own country’s sanctions policy. The Treasury Department soon after said it\u00a0had unilaterally decided to lift existing sanctions<\/a>\u00a0on Russian diesel exports.<\/p>\n

Trump didn’t stop there. On Friday night, he offered\u00a0his effusive thanks<\/a>\u00a0to the Russian dictator; on Saturday afternoon, he called on Ukraine\u00a0to get a new president<\/a>; and on Saturday night, he proceeded to\u00a0trash<\/a>\u00a0Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly while defending Russia’s desire for peace despite all evidence to the contrary. [MS NOW<\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

His allegiance isn’t to the Republican Party or the United States. It’s to his own vision of wealth, and if that requires him to abandon American allies and snuffle up to autocrats, he’ll do it. This is what we’ve seen with NATO<\/strong>, Ukraine, various autocratic nations, and our Middle East allies, as well as individual Republicans who he viewed as no longer useful.<\/p>\n

So will Republicans abandon him? While a majority of their base will stick with them even as they learn to despise President Trump, the independents are much less likely to do so. They’re more likely to switch their votes, or sit it out.<\/p>\n

THE ORGAN AT THE FUNERAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

… has funereal tones. Here’s one:<\/p>\n

\n

Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas boldly\u00a0declared in July<\/a> that \u201cthe midterms will be decided by the price of gasoline in October.\u201d<\/p>\n

That prediction now looks strikingly prescient \u2014 though not in the way Marshall may have hoped: October has arrived with gasoline prices sharply higher, and Republican candidates across the country facing surprisingly competitive races.<\/p>\n

Since the war in Iran began in late February, the average price of gasoline in the US has<\/a> risen by about 46%, driven largely by disruptions to global oil markets caused by the war that many Republicans, Marshall included, have consistently defended. [CNN <\/strong><\/em>via KAKE.com<\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

JUST A REMINDER …<\/strong><\/p>\n

“MoE” means Margin of Error. Pollster ratings courtesy Silver Bulletin<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

CORGIS LIKE TO RACE<\/strong><\/p>\n

If I’m to believe the local horse track, at least. Otherwise, here’s the previous Campaign Update<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, delivered by a cowboy on a corgi.<\/p>\n