Heading into the final stretch of the midterm elections, President Donald Trump has urged voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot.” With low approval ratings, voter discontent over his war with Iran and stubbornly high prices for gas and groceries, some Republican candidates who happily accepted his endorsement in the primary are deleting or de-prioritizing their ties to the president.
Meanwhile, several Democrats running this cycle have pivoted to kitchen-table issues, moving away from prior messaging about the environment and culture issues. Some are keeping a distance from prominent party figures. Public opinion polls show Democrat James Talarico leading his Republican opponent in the race for an open Senate seat in Texas. That momentum in the historically Republican-leaning state is drawing would-be Democratic presidential hopefuls to Texas, but, as Politico reported, Talarico has “avoided campaigning with them.”
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Together, candidates on both sides of the aisle in competitive races are following public polling, and positioning themselves less as party loyalists and more like outsiders looking to dramatically change “Washington” and “Congress.”
“Smart pollsters are advising to stay away from the Trump name,” Republican communication consultant Bill O’Reilly told Straight Arrow on Tuesday. “It’s toxic right now and that’s reflective of the strategies of the campaigns.” But unexpected events between now and Nov. 3 could change that, he said. “Messaging is adjusting during the campaign,” but, he added, “people try to do it subtly so they don’t get noticed.”
Here is a look at a few notable changes identified by Straight Arrow.
FL-22 — Mike Beltran (R)
As recently as last month, Mike Beltran’s campaign website said the Republican state legislator in Florida was “inspired” to run for office by Donald Trump’s victory in 2016. Featured text on the page described Beltran as a “Proven Conservative” and “Undefeated Fighter,” who was “One of only seven Florida GOP legislators who never wavered from President Trump.”
The biography also said Beltran had been “standing firm with Trump from the moment he came down the escalator in 2015,” adding, “That wasn’t political. It was conviction.”
A month later, each of those lines was removed from the website, though a picture of Trump remained.
KY-06 — Dr. Ralph Alvarado (R)
Trump endorsed Dr. Ralph Alvarado for a Kentucky House seat on May 1 and May 18, the day of his Republican primary. One month after winning that primary, Alvarado’s campaign website still referred to him as an “America First Fighter.”
By August, his campaign website was calling him “Independent.” The line about being “one of President Trump’s earliest supporters” and vowing to “stop the woke agenda” was replaced with a pledge “to bring independent leadership” and “practical solutions.”
In ads, Alvarado showed clips from his speech at the Republican National Convention and referred to himself as a “triple Trump” supporter, a “three-time Trump supporter” and a “MAHA doctor.” Those ads stopped running on Google and Meta in May.
Issues like “Support Trump’s America First Agenda,” “Keep the Border Secured,” and “Fight the Woke Agenda” were replaced with “Lower Prices & Inflation,” “Clearer Health Insurance Choices,” and “More Affordable Healthcare.”
Alvarado has not mentioned “Trump,” “woke,” “America First” or “MAGA” since May.
KY-06 — Zach Dembo (D)
The first two ads Democrat Zach Dembo ran on Google were in April, and in them he says he worked as a prosecutor at the Justice Department “until Trump used it to go after his enemies. So I resigned.”
Dembo removed references to Trump in his next set of ads on Google, which began running this month. In one, he says, “I hate politics. And for me, country has always come before party … That’s why I’m running for Congress today.” In that ad, and another, he vows to “go after corruption in both parties.”
AZ-01 — Dr. Amish Shah (D)
Dr. Amish Shah ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2024, and his campaign website remained live through January 2025. After he announced his latest candidacy in May 2025, the site updated the photo and removed the law enforcement endorsement. Shah’s campaign manager told Straight Arrow the 2024 endorsements were removed in 2025, and new endorsements were added as they came in during the current campaign.
Unlike the prior campaign site, the newer one removes a note about bipartisanship and praise from a Republican.
The law enforcement endorsement that was not present in June 2025 returns by August 2026.
A women’s health champion award that was present as late as August 2026 is removed, and the law enforcement endorsement is larger.
This month, the homepage feature image changes, and the law enforcement endorsement appears more prominently.
“Lowering Costs for Arizonans” replaces “Protecting our Democracy Against Attacks” as Shah’s top priority.
By September, Shah added a new priority: stopping animal cruelty.
AZ-01 — Jay Feely (R)
Former NFL player Jay Feely announced his congressional candidacy in April 2025. Trump endorsed him on Jan. 6 and July 10 and celebrated his primary victory on July 22. Feely has not mentioned Trump by name on X since July 13, though his website still names Trump supportively on several pages of his website.
In June, Feely ran video ads on Google touting Trump’s support. His latest video ads on Google, launched this month, do not mention Trump or his party affiliation. On Meta, he is currently running ads aimed at “independents (and everyone else).” Feely’s ads on Meta that mention Trump’s endorsement stopped running in July.
NV-03 — Marty O’Donnell (R)
Trump endorsed Marty O’Donnell for a House seat in Nevada on April 14 and June 8, and celebrated his primary victory on June 10. On the day of the primary, O’Donnell’s campaign homepage featured a picture of him with Trump. As late as July 22, the homepage featured a picture with a file name referring to a “VictoryGraphic” from June.
O’Donnell continues to mention and praise Trump on his X account, where he has more than 130,000 followers.
But by August, the Trump image on the campaign homepage was replaced with a video ad that does not mention Trump. Instead, there is a clip of his Democratic opponent, and O’Donnell tells viewers, “It’s time to get Congress back in tune.” Since August, Trump is not mentioned in O’Donnell’s ads on Google (including ads funded by the National Republican Campaign Committee).
This month, O’Donnell’s homepage features an ad that makes no reference to Trump.
AZ-02 — Jonathan Nez (D)
Democrat Jonathan Nez ran unsuccessfully for a House seat in Arizona in 2024. In July 2025, he announced he would run again. That month the feature image on his campaign homepage was changed, and the site now brands him as a “warrior.”
This month marks the first time the issues page of Nez’s campaign website was archived since he announced his latest run for Congress. Compared to his earlier run, the priorities have changed. “Immigration,” “Opioid crisis” and “Putting Arizona First” have been replaced with the “Warrior Up Agenda,” which includes “Lower Housing and Utility Costs,” “Support Small Businesses and Workers” and a plan to fight “Government Corruption and Money in Politics.” Additionally, “Putting Arizona First” has been relabeled “Put Community First.”
MI-08 — Kristen McDonald Rivet (D)
After the Aug. 18 primary, Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet tweaked the campaign’s homepage with a new headshot, color scheme, and replaced “Action” items for volunteers and donors with issues like “Supporting Public Safety,” “Working with Both Parties to Get Stuff Done,” and “Fixing a Broken System.”
A link to “View Our Endorsements” is replaced after the primary with “Take Action with Team KMR.”
A list of Rivet’s 2024 endorsements that include Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Reps. Dan Kildee, Debbie Dingell and Haley Stevens (all Democrats) are listed on the campaign website as late as January, with a clearer image of it saved in October 2025. By March, that endorsement page was no longer accessible.
The page is still not accessible as of Monday, Sept. 28.
Rivet’s “Dear Neighbor” letter, apparently from the 2024 campaign, was still on her site as late as Feb. 2025. The page was next captured in September. It was shortened, pivoting away from her local roots and support from a fellow lawmaker. The new letter begins by acknowledging how “it feels like things are stacked against us,” and the high cost of groceries and prescription drugs. The new letter omits her sign-off, “Onward.”
The 2024 campaign page on immigration reform, which includes a pledge to fight for “robust enforcement at the southern border,” and “earned pathway to citizenship,” is no longer accessible.
CO-08 — Manny Rutinel (D)
Unlike some Democrats in competitive races, Manny Rutinel in Colorado shifted his rhetoric to heighten the contrast with Trump. His profile picture changed from suit and tie to cowboy hat and fleece jacket. His reason for running was tweaked, from “fighting for our working families and way of life” to “fighting to lower costs, protect Social Security & Medicare and defend our way of life.”
Later, the phrase “defend our way of life” was replaced with “stand up to Trump’s attacks on our rights.”
By March, Rutinel’s bio had a new intro graph that included the line, “I’m Trump’s worst nightmare. This fight is personal for me.” The graph about being raised by “a working-class single mother” removes the detail about “working from a young age to help my mom pay the bills.”
The original graph refers to “filling out food stamp applications and “working from a young age to help my mom pay the bills.” The new graph omits the “working” phrase and says he “grew up filling out food stamp and Medicaid forms to survive — the same programs that Trump is destroying.”
The next graph omits the detail about having worked “as a substitute teacher through college.” The last graph adds: “We must fight to … defend the rights and freedoms of every Coloradan” to “the rights and freedoms from Trump’s cruelty and corruption.”
The tagline is shortened and removes “protect Social Security & Medicare and stand up to Trump’s attacks on our rights” and adds, “to take on corruption, and fight for working families like mine.”
FL-22 — Casey Askar (R)
Casey Askar announced his candidacy on May 19. He ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2020.
Trump endorsed Askar on Sept. 1. The next day, Askar thanked Trump for the endorsement and has not mentioned him by name on the platform since.
Askar’s campaign website removed a picture of the candidate with Trump, and removed Trump’s name from a featured quote.
Askar’s bio now includes references to coming “from very humble beginnings,” how his family “legally immigrated to the U.S., escaping religious persecution,” “working at McDonald’s,” and “mopping floors at CVS,” and describes in more detail his service in the U.S. Marine Corps.
The prominently featured line, “Trump ally Casey Askar in the news,” is removed.
Priorities are tweaked to add “Government Accountability.” “The American Economy” is changed to “Economy,” removing “Slash taxes, regulations … expand all existing tax cuts, eliminate the Death Tax and marriage penalty …dramatically reduce the corporate rate … Overhaul the tax code…” to more kitchen-table issues.
“We are all feeling the pressure at the grocery store and at the gas pump,” the site says. “Tackling the rising cost of eggs, milk, and gas is his top priority. In Congress, Casey will work with leadership to help slash overburdening taxes and regulations that are adding to the affordability crisis.”
A reference to Trump was removed from the immigration/law enforcement section.
After the incumbent Republican withdrew, state legislator Jennifer Balkcom entered the race on Aug. 10. Trump endorsed her on Aug. 17, one day before the primary. Balkcom thanked Trump that day and has mentioned him by name on the site only once since in passing.
The two ads Balkcom is running on Meta’s platforms do not mention Trump or identify her party affiliation.
All four references to “Conservative” are removed from Jennifer Balkcom’s campaign website after she entered the congressional race.
The section titled “Fighting for Our Conservative Values” is removed, along with issues like “Voting Integrity,” “2nd Amendment Rights,” “Sanctity of Life” and “Parental Rights.”
NC-11 — Jamie Ager (D)
Jamie Ager announced his candidacy on July 31, 2025.
Jamie Ager changed the picture featured on the campaign homepage.
