CNN
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President Donald Trump is already exerting his influence over the 2026 midterm elections, endorsing two close allies in open gubernatorial contests in the past week and privately signaling plans to shape the Republican ticket in more key races next year, according to people familiar with the discussions.
In recent weeks, Trump has assured House and Senate Republicans he intends to open up his massive stockpile of campaign reserves – which he has boasted is north of half a billion dollars – to defend the party’s slim majorities in both chambers next year, a White House official with knowledge of the conversations told CNN.
But even as he pledges financial support, Trump has not ruled out intervening in primaries to bolster challengers against Republican officeholders he perceives as insufficiently loyal.
“Will (Trump’s money) be for primaries or generals? That’ll be up for them to decide,” the official teased, referring to potentially rebellious incumbents.
Trump’s team and congressional Republicans have discussed recruitment efforts, particularly in the House, where the GOP’s narrow majority is already presenting governing challenges and will be difficult to maintain.
“He understands the importance of keeping the House majority for his agenda to be able to move forward,” said Rep. Richard Hudson, who leads the House GOP campaign arm. “There’s nothing more valuable than an endorsement from President Trump for a candidate. I think he understands that as well. We value his help, we value his input as we go through the recruiting process.”
The president’s advisers have privately communicated to congressional campaign committees that securing Trump’s endorsement will require candidates to meet two criteria: they must be unwavering allies and they must demonstrate viability in a general election, the official said. That stipulation suggests Trump is willing to endorse candidates even if they are not the preferred choices of the party establishment.
“If you don’t want to put yourselves in a bad spot, put us in a good spot,” the official added. “Do us all a favor so we can all work together. Be smart. Don’t waste everyone’s time.”
This early level of coordination between Trump and party leaders — unseen during his first term — reflects the urgency of a term-limited president intent on avoiding the political setbacks that marred his first administration. Then, Democrats reclaimed the House two years into his presidency, launching investigations into his administration and personal finances and ultimately voting twice to impeach him.
Determined this time to have a compliant Congress for all four years, Trump began discussing his midterm strategy shortly after his November victory, people close to him said. Top advisers have briefed Trump on next year’s battleground maps, outlining for him where there are opportunities to add allied Republican governors and seats in Congress as well as which turf will need defending. Trump’s former co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita is expected to play a heavy role coordinating midterm strategy from outside the White House.
How Trump and his team will determine a candidate’s loyalty remains an open question. It is likely to be shaped by how lawmakers align themselves on key policy battles early in his presidency, including upcoming spending fights, though congressional campaign operatives have stressed that it can’t be a loyalty test alone.
Some GOP operatives have informed Trump’s team directly that swing-seat Republicans need space from Trump to remain competitive against Democrats and keep his agenda alive, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Republicans facing difficult reelections, including Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, have at times publicly diverged from Trump, usually offering measured criticism or carefully calibrated disagreements. While Trump allies like Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, have threatened primaries for Republicans who don’t fall in line, others have urged conservatives to practice political expedience.
“We should give (Collins) some space,” Caroline Wren, a top Trump fundraiser, told a gathering of grassroots activists last week. “She’s in a very blue state, so let’s just leave her alone.”
Wren, however, indicated that the MAGA base should focus its efforts on primary challenges in deeply conservative strongholds — where loyalty to Trump remains an uncompromising litmus test.
Another test of party unity is emerging as congressional Republicans weigh their stance on federal spending cuts and slashing of government jobs championed by Elon Musk — and how to respond to pressure brewing in their districts.
Meanwhile, the billionaire, who has grown increasingly involved in GOP politics, has been in preliminary discussions with the White House about potential collaboration, according to the official. Musk spent nearly $300 million of his personal fortune to help elect Trump last year and is expected to contribute significantly to Republican efforts to maintain control of Congress.
An early test of this new political alliance is already taking shape in Wisconsin, where America PAC, a super PAC aligned with Musk, has reported spending more than $2.6 million to benefit the conservative candidate in an upcoming state Supreme Court race, Brad Schimel, state records show. A separate non-profit group with ties to Musk recently launched TV ads in the race as well.
This initial push comes as the White House is publicly acknowledging the coalition that pushed Trump over the finish line last year may be less motivated to vote in 2026. Trump’s campaign, Musk’s group and other aligned organizations spent tens of millions of dollars last year courting people who rarely or never voted, a push widely viewed as successful but one that will be difficult to duplicate.
“It’ll be challenging, because if you look at the data in Wisconsin, what carries President Trump is a group of voters who only vote when Trump is on the ballot,” White House deputy chief of staff James Blair told MAGA supporters during the Conservative Political Action Conference last week.
Key to keeping those voters engaged, the White House believes, is for Republicans in Congress to follow through on Trump’s campaign pledges specifically tailored to those voters. That includes eliminating taxes on tips, overtime wages and Social Security, and seeing through Musk’s teardown of the federal government.
“These are the things that the people bought, and the people are in tune with what is actually affecting their lives,” the official said. “If they just make sort of incremental, tinker-at-the-edges changes, they’re not going to be rewarded at the ballot box in the midterms.”
Trump’s team has been in near-daily communication with political teams aligned with Speaker Mike Johnson, stressing his desire for a full term to enact his agenda this time, according to a source familiar with the talks.
House GOP operatives plan to make Trump’s agenda a central part of their midterms message, insisting that they can defy the political gravity that usually means a president’s party loses seats in a midterm. Already, Trump has a stronger hold on battleground districts than he did last time: Only three House Republicans currently represent seats won by Kamala Harris, compared to 13 Democrats in Trump seats – a reversal of the GOP’s fortunes from just a few years ago.
Still, the track record of Trump-endorsed candidates is decidedly mixed, with some Republicans blaming him for the party’s setbacks during the 2018 and 2022 midterm elections.
Trump’s involvement during primary season has the potential to cause considerable headaches for GOP leadership, which is eager to avoid spending money to defend members in solidly red districts rather than using it against Democrats.
Trump’s engagement won’t be limited to Congress. He intends to get involved in gubernatorial primaries as well in hopes of building a network of allies in state capitals.
On Monday, he endorsed businessman and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy just moments after he launched a bid for governor of Ohio. Last week, he posted on social media his intention to back Rep. Byron Donalds in the GOP primary for Florida governor – days ahead of the congressman formally launching his campaign during an appearance with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
The endorsements have already shaken up succession plans for the term-limited Republican governors currently leading those states. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine recently tapped former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel to serve as lieutenant governor, setting up the possibility he might run for the top job in 2026. Similarly, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis had signaled to donors her interest in succeeding her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis – a bid that even the couple’s close confidants acknowledge is challenging after Trump threw his support behind Donalds.
DeSantis, who is term-limited from running again, criticized Donalds after Trump’s endorsement – a byproduct of a public falling out during the presidential primary, when Donalds backed Trump over DeSantis – and has touted the credentials of his wife to carry the torch. Still, a fundraiser with knowledge of the DeSantis’ planning said they recognize “the difficulty of a proxy war race” against a Trump-aligned candidate.
Addressing Republican governors last week, Trump echoed what he has told congressional Republicans, vowing to use his war chest to help his party’s candidates for governor.
“I gotta spend it somewhere,” Trump told Republican governors. “And they tell me I’m not allowed to run.”
Since the election, Trump’s team has collected funds for both his presidential transition and inaugural committee and has outpaced the record $107 million that the president took in for his first inauguration in 2017. He claimed to Republican governors that he “raised $608 million in three weeks,” though the figure cannot be verified until fundraising reports start to be filed later this spring.
Nor is it clear which pots of money Trump is referring to when discussing midterm plans. The inaugural committee faced no legal limit on the size of donations it could accept, and many corporations – eager to curry favor with the new administration – proudly announced making seven-figure donations to support the swearing-in festivities.
The inaugural committee raised so much money so quickly that donors and fundraisers said that last-minute contributors were encouraged to write checks to another group – a Trump-aligned super PAC called MAGA Inc., which spent heavily on his reelection and can be deployed to underwrite advertising to help Republicans in the midterms and target his political foes.
Additionally, Trump has converted his 2024 presidential campaign committee into a leadership PAC called Never Surrender, Inc. Leadership PACs are a key way that political figures make donations to other candidates, but they have broad leeway to channel their money to other purposes, including the politician’s personal expenses.
Trump has used another leadership PAC, called Save America, that he established after his White House loss in 2020 to help underwrite his soaring personal legal bills. And his recent fundraising appeals show he continues to raise money to benefit Save America.
Whatever Trump contributes toward helping fellow Republicans would likely outpace his efforts during past midterm election cycles when he still had his own political ambitions to fund.
“If I can’t spend it on me,” Trump told Republican governors, “I guess it means I’m going to be spending it on some of my friends.”
CNN’s Alayna Treene and Fredreka Schouten contributed to this report.
