CNN
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President Donald Trump has already shown his influence in the 2026 midterm elections, supporting two close allies in governors’ contests that were released in the past week, and personally signaling plans to shape Republican tickets in a more important race next year.
In recent weeks, Trump has assured House and Senate Republicans that he will open up a massive stockpile of campaign reserves — he boasts of being $5 billion north — defending the party’s slim majority in both rooms next year, White House officials told CNN.
But even if he pledges financial support, Trump has not ruled out intervening in the primary to strengthen challengers to Republican office holders he perceives as inadequately loyal.
“Is (Trump’s money) for the primary or the general? They could decide,” the official teased, referring to the potentially rebellious incumbent.
Trump’s team and Republicans in Congress discussed recruitment efforts, particularly in a home that is difficult to maintain, with the narrow majority of GOPs already presenting governance challenges.
“He understands the importance of maintaining a majority in the House to ensure his agenda moves forward,” said Rep. Richard Hudson, who leads the House GOP Campaign Arm. “There’s nothing more valuable than support from President Trump for the candidate, and I think he understands that. We value his help and we value his views through the recruitment process.”
The president’s advisor personally informed the Congressional Campaign Committee that two criteria must be met by ensuring Trump’s approval. They must be unwavering allysecure and demonstrate viability in general elections, officials said. That provision suggests that Trump is willing to support candidates, even if Trump is not a favourable choice for party facilities.
“If you don’t want to put yourself in a bad place, put us in a good place,” the official added. “Please give us all the bounties so that we can all work together. Be smart. Don’t waste everyone’s time.”
This early adjustment between Trump and the party leader is invisible during his first term – reflects the urgency of the president’s limited intentions to avoid political set breaks that undermine his first administration. Democrats then reclaimed the House two years after their presidency, launched an investigation into his administration and personal finances, and ultimately voted twice to fire him each.
This time, he decided to hold a congressional session that is compliant for all four years, and Trump began discussing his interim strategy shortly after his victory in November, people nearby said. Top advisors explained to Trump about the battlefield map for next year, and had the opportunity to add Republican governors and Congress to him, and outlined which grass would need defense. Trump’s former co-campaign manager, Chris Lacivita, is expected to play a heavy role in coordinating interim strategies from outside the White House.
How Trump and his team decide on candidate loyalty remains an open question. Congressional campaign operatives stress that this is not a loyalty test, but it is likely to be shaped by the way lawmakers align themselves with major policy wars early in the presidency.
According to people familiar with the debate, some GOP operatives have told Trump’s teams directly that the Swingseat Republicans need space from Trump to keep the competition from Trump and keep his agenda alive.
Faced with difficult reelections, including Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Republicans, sometimes fork publicly from Trump, offering usually measured criticism or carefully coordinated disagreement. Trump allies like Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk are threatening unlined Republican primary elections, while others have urged conservatives to practice political epidience.
“We should give (Collins) some space,” Trump’s top fundraiser Caroline Wren told a gathering of grassroots activists last week. “She’s in a very blue state, so let her go.”
But Wren has shown that MAGA bases should focus their efforts on key challenges at deep conservative hubs where loyalty to Trump remains an uncompromising Litmus test.
Another test of party unity has emerged as Congressional Republicans compare the stances of government jobs defended by Elon Musk against reducing federal spending and reducing how they respond to pressure brewing in the district.
Meanwhile, billionaires increasingly involved in GOP politics have been holding preliminary discussions with the White House about potential cooperation, officials said. Musk is expected to spend almost $300 million in his personal fortune to help Trump elect him last year, and will make a significant contribution to the Republican efforts to maintain control of Congress.
Early tests for this new political alliance are shown by Brad Simmell, who reports that the American PAC, already alongside Musk, has spent more than $2.6 million to benefit conservative candidates in upcoming state Supreme Court races. An independent nonprofit group with ties to masks has also recently launched a TV ad at the race.
This first push may be unlikely to vote in 2026 as the White House publicly acknowledges the coalition that pushed Trump to the finish line last year. Trump’s campaign, Musk’s group and other alliance organizations spent tens of millions of dollars last year, spending people who rarely vote.
“Looking at Wisconsin data, it’s challenging because President Trump is a group of voters who only vote when President Trump votes,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair told Magazine Supporters at a conservative political action conference last week.
The White House believes that the key to getting those voters involved is to track Trump’s campaign pledges specifically tailored to those voters. This includes tips, overtime wages, elimination of taxes on social security, and looking through federal rifts in masks.
“These are things people buy and people are tailored to what they actually impact their lives,” the official said. “If they just change the edge tinkering a bit a bit, they won’t be rewarded with the mid-term ballot box.”
Trump’s team has been communicating almost a day with the political team alongside speaker Mike Johnson, this time highlighting his desire to establish his agenda.
House GOP operatives are planning to make Trump’s agenda a central part of their mid-term message, claiming that political gravity can be ignored, meaning that the president’s party will lose its seat in the mid-term. Trump has already held on the battlefield more strongly than last time. Currently, only three House Republicans representing the seat that Kamala Harris won are the reversal of GOP’s wealth several years ago compared to the 13 Democrats in the Trump seat.
Still, the track record of Trump’s raised candidates is clearly mixed, with some Republicans denounceing the party’s setback in the midterm elections in 2018 and 2022.
Trump’s involvement during the primary season can cause considerable headaches in GOP leadership. This is not to be used against the Democrats, but rather to avoid spending money to protect members of the Red District firmly.
Trump’s involvement is not limited to Congress. He will also be taking part in the governor’s primary election in the hopes of building a network of allies in the state’s capital.
On Monday, he approved businessman and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy shortly after he began bidding for the Ohio governor. Last week he posted on social media on his intention to support Rep. Byron Donald at the Governor of Florida, GOP Primary.
This support has already shaken up succession plans for the limited time-limited Republican governors who now lead these states. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine recently set the chance to take on top job in 2026, with former Ohio football coach Jim Tressel as lieutenant governor. Similarly, Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis was interested in challenging his parents, even behind her husband, Ron DeSantis, to challenge his husband, conf.
DeSantis, who is restricted from running again, criticized Donald after Trump’s support. This was a byproduct of Donald’s dropout during the presidential primary in which Trump was supported by DeSantis, and promoted his wife’s qualifications to carry the torch. Still, the fundraiser with knowledge of Desantis’ plans said it recognizes the “difficulty of a proxy war competition” against candidates on Trump’s side.
Speaking to the Republican governor last week, Trump vowed to use his war box to help his party’s candidates, reflecting what he said to Republicans in Congress.
“I have to use it somewhere,” Trump told the Republican governor. “And they’re telling me I’m not allowed to run.”
Since the election, Trump’s team has raised funds for both the president’s transition and the inauguration committee, surpassing the record $107 million adopted by the president for his first inauguration in 2017.
It is also not clear which pots mention Trump when discussing his medium-term plan. The Inaugural Committee has not faced legal restrictions on the size of the contributions it may accept, and many companies (companies keen to favor the new administration) proudly announced that they will make seven-figure donations to support the Soldier.
The first committee raised so quickly that donors and fundraisers said last-minute contributors were encouraged to write checks to another group. The Trump-lined super PACs can be deployed to spend heavily on his re-election and take on advertising to target with the mid-term Republicans.
Additionally, Trump has transformed his 2024 Presidential Election Commission into a Leadership PAC called Never Surrender, Inc, Never Surrender, Inc.
Trump used another leadership PAC called Save America. He founded after the White House defeat in 2020 and helped him take on the rising personal bill. And his recent fundraising appeal shows that he continues to raise money to benefit Save America.
Anything that Trump contributes to supporting Republicans could outweigh his efforts during past midterm election cycles when he still had his own political ambition to fund.
“If I can’t use it on me,” Trump told the Republican governor.
CNN’s Alayna Treene and Fredreka Schouten contributed to this report.
