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Page A2From§Eachthe matinee edition — 23 September 2026

Washington Examiner predicts the GOP 'dam' breaks after Election Day; five campaigns already broke before it

By SalStaff Writer

“Wisconsin's GOP nominee for governor reups calls to end Iran war”, 23 September 2026 (Photo via The Hill — the original report)

As it ran on the front

Start with the dilemma, because that's where it starts on the record. On September 9th, as the Trump-centric midterm convention opened in Dallas, The Hill filed it plainly: attending meant wrapping yourself in the president's flag, and most candidates still wanted his blessing. The same week, the Washington Examiner ran the ledger on Trump's own endorsement record — most of his picks had cleared their primaries, but several high-profile ones hadn't, governors' races in Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, South Carolina, Wyoming among the losses. The flag had a cost even before anyone let go of it.

By September 20th the Examiner had a new headline: Republicans searching for daylight, keeping Trump at arm's length, sometimes rebuking him outright, on immigration, on the Iran war, because the map had grown more competitive than the convention suggested. Still framed as searching. Still subtle.…

…(cont) Then Tuesday arrived and the search ended. Bob Cusack, who runs that newsroom, said on the record that he expects to see more Republicans break with the president as the midterms put pressure on candidates — that the White House doesn't appreciate it, and that these statements are already coming from members of Congress. His own paper's headline put a word on that forecast: dam. Cusack didn't use it in the sentence quoted; his newsroom's headline did. Either way, the same day proved the framing right before the ink dried. Fox News had three names on the record — Ashley Hinson, Mike Rogers, Jon Husted — breaking with Trump on the Iran war as gas prices reshape their toss-up Senate races. The Washington Examiner itself published a running roster of every Republican who has broken with Trump on unpopular positions ahead of November, most of them from battleground states, most of them on Iran. The Hill reported Wisconsin's own GOP nominee for governor, Tom Tiffany, again calling on Trump to end the military operation against Iran — this after a FOX6 reporter pressed him on why he has repeatedly not supported a war powers resolution that would do exactly that. CBS confirmed the shape of it: Trump-aligned candidates in tight races calling for a quick end to the war, even as Trump himself stands by the strategy and has floated escalating it.

The dam metaphor was supposed to describe November. It's describing September.

“You don't need a poll to see a party running from its own president in an election year — you need a wire feed, and this one's got five names on it before the leaves turn. The editor who called the break said the quiet part: the White House doesn't even see it coming. That's not a prediction, that's a party already voting with its feet while the man with his finger on the actual war watches the map instead.”
Sal
“Look, these are just candidates responding to their districts, that's called representative government, it's practically the whole idea — did I say practically? It's the entire idea. And Tiffany's been consistent, he's called for ending this thing for weeks, the fact that he hasn't backed the one bill that would actually end it, that's a procedural nuance, that's not — okay, that one's not great for us.”
Chip

Earlier in this story

The receipts

Wisconsin's GOP nominee for governor reups calls to end Iran war Tiffany calls for ending the Iran war he won't vote to end
The Hillmainstream§

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wisc.), the Republican nominee in Wisconsin’s competitive gubernatorial race, reupped his calls Tuesday for President Trump to end U.S. military operations against Iran.

Republicans' reconciliation package puts $70 billion into ICE's department NBC News, May 2026

‘Dam could break after elections’ as Trump supporters break over Iran war and ICE: Bob Cusack
Washington Examinerright§

Washington Examiner executive editor Bob Cusack said he expects to see more Republicans breaking with President Donald Trump as midterm elections put more pressure on candidates. “I don’t think the White House appreciates it, and I do think that those type of statements are starting to come from members of Congress now,” Cusack said on…

Democrats are running an average of 11.5 points ahead of their 2024 baseline across 2026 special elections MultiState Elections, 2026 special-election tracking

Here are all the Republicans who have broken with Trump on unpopular issues ahead of midterm elections
Washington Examinerright§

A growing number of Republican candidates are distancing themselves from President Donald Trump ahead of November’s midterm elections, as they navigate politically tumultuous waters. Many of those pivoting away from their typically strong alliance with the president, particularly on the Iran war, hail from battleground states or are…

Democrats are running an average of 11.5 points ahead of their 2024 baseline across 2026 special elections MultiState Elections, 2026 special-election tracking

Republicans search for daylight with Trump as 2026 map grows more competitive
Washington Examinerright§

A growing number of congressional Republicans are keeping President Donald Trump at arm’s length, and at times rebuking him directly, as polls suggest a looming November blue wave. From immigration to the Iran war, Republicans are signaling anxiety that the Trump administration’s policies could cost them with voters. The steps are often…

Dan McKee becomes first governor in 8 years to lose primary A former CVS executive just bought the governor's seat
Politicomainstream§

Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes defeated the Rhode Island governor in the Democratic primary after he failed to corral a growing political crisis around a bridge.

· The Memo: Trump’s midterm convention presents GOP candidates with stark dilemma from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· Where Trump’s 2026 endorsement record stands after primary season from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· Fetterman appears at RNC midterm convention in surprise video from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Fetterman, already at odds with his party, makes surprise video for GOP convention from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Dem senator delivers surprise video at Republican convention backing McCormick from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Fetterman Praises McCormick, Vows To Work With Trump In Pre-Recorded Midterm Convention Video from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Fetterman says he'll still caucus with Democrats after video appearance at GOP midterm convention from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Fetterman teases where his true loyalty lies after surprise appearance at GOP convention from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Watch: Democratic Sen. John Fetterman addresses GOP midterm convention in video from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Fetterman appears in video praising McCormick at GOP midterm convention from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee loses Democratic primary to former CVS executive from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Incumbents fall in Rhode Island primaries: 3 takeaways from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Dem incumbent becomes first sitting governor to lose primary since 2018 from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Helena Foulkes wins Rhode Island Democratic governor primary, NBC News projects from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Rhode Island’s Dan McKee becomes first elected governor to lose primary since 2014 from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Democratic socialist ousts Providence mayor in primary from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Rhode Island governor projected to lose Democratic primary to former CVS executive from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Bernie Sanders-endorsed challenger defeats Providence mayor in a Democratic primary from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Fetterman’s Surprise GOP Convention Video Angers Democrats from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Fetterman praises ‘great friend’ McCormick in surprise midterm convention video from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· Fetterman Praises Trump in Convention Video from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· Pa. Democrat John Fetterman delivers surprise message at Republican midterm convention from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· This Governor Could Lose His Primary. A Bridge May Be to Blame. from the morgue, 30 Aug 2026

· Rhode Island governor trails challenger in new Democratic primary poll from the morgue, 27 Aug 2026

· "Mop Up Michigan": Donavan McKinney on Democratic Socialism, Corporate Money & His Primary Upset from the morgue, 14 Aug 2026

· Eight House Democrats vote to condemn and denounce socialism and the DSA from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· Vulnerable Democrats vote to denounce socialism amid midterm pressure from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· Rahm Emanuel shuts socialists out of Democratic tent: ‘Run as a separate party’ from the morgue, 30 Aug 2026

· Fetterman: Democratic Party has 'socialism problem' from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026

· Fetterman 2028 primary threat looms as Democrat Chris Deluzio says he ‘might’ run from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· Pennsylvania Democrat blasts Fetterman as 'lazy trust fund baby' from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Democrats split on how to counter Trump’s midterm convention from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026

· Chris Deluzio On John Fetterman: “A Failure Of Leadership” from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Dems descend on posh island getaway packed with deep-pocketed donors as midterms close in from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026

This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.