President Donald Trump and the White House are already working behind the scenes on next year’s midterm elections, where Trump will play a heavy role in recruiting, fundraising and messaging, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.
The White House plans to spend this year and next selling the president’s massive tax and spending bill to voters ahead of the midterm elections, the White House official told ABC News.
Trump and members of his Cabinet will travel to battleground states to promote the bill. Just last week, Vice President JD Vance was in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, to tout the signature legislation.
The White House is also planning a retreat in August for congressional staffers to discuss how to promote the bill and is seeking candidates to run in several key races. Trump is also expected to get involved if a prospective candidate is hesitant to enter the race.
According to the White House official, aides of the president are working to recruit someone to run in New Hampshire for the state’s open Senate seat. The effort comes after the state’s popular former governor, Chris Sununu, who had been mulling a run for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, said in early April that he had decided not to run.
White House political director Matt Brasseaux also has been attending House candidate recruitment meetings organized by Georgia GOP Rep. Brian Jack.
Trump’s political operation has continued to raise money and the president has told congressional Republicans that he plans to spend money on their races. The president’s political operation will also soon establish fundraising vehicles for candidates in several notable races, allowing Trump’s team to raise funds for them. Trump is also planning to headline a major fundraiser organized by the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C., in the fall.
The president and the White House are also working to keep Republicans in key races from retiring or seeking other offices.
The White House is working to prevent Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst from retiring, the White House official said. The efforts come after she received criticism, telling voters during a town hall, “We all are going to die,” in response to concerns about cuts to Medicaid in Trump’s megabill. Ernst has not announced her 2026 plans.
As the most powerful person in the Republican Party, Trump plans to use his political clout to influence the primaries to ensure that the party nominates the candidate he views as the most electable or to punish Republicans who have angered him.
Trump recently met with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to discuss the state’s Senate primary for the seat now occupied by Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. The White House aims to avoid a messy primary in the critical battleground state and is determining how to engage in the race.
Trump has pushed for Republicans to redraw congressional districts in Texas to create more GOP seats to pick up in the midterms. Trump encouraged members of Texas’ congressional delegation during a recent call to support his plan and his team is also exploring other states for possible redistricting opportunities. If successful, Republicans could gain five new seats, but the move comes with risks.
California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom has said that he has spoken to state lawmakers about calling a special session to initiate changes to state law to redraw districts in response to developments in Texas.
“If we’re gonna play fair in a world that is wholly unfair, we may have the higher moral ground, but the ground is shifting from underneath us. And I think we have to wake up to that reality,” Newsom said.
