Mercurial Trump Rattles Republican Party Ahead of Midterms

The following article by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns was posted on the New York TImes website September 8, 2017:

President Trump’s political arm has aired ads against Senator Dean Heller, Republican of Nevada, while the president himself used a televised White House meeting with Mr. Heller to warn that he would be voted out if he did not back repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s mercurial politics are already rattling Republicans heading into the 2018 midterm campaign, sparking Trump-like primary challenges in two high-profile Senate races and a host of lower-profile House contests, while pushing a growing number of moderate House members to the exits.

On Thursday night, Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, a leader of the House Republican moderates, announced that he had had enough, following Representatives Dave Reichert of Washington and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida to a Trump-free retirement.

Trump-inspired candidates have emerged to challenge Senators Dean Heller of Nevada and Jeff Flake of Arizona, two Republicans who have been targets of the president’s ire, as well as House members seen as insufficiently devoted to Mr. Trump, such as Representative Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Continue reading “Mercurial Trump Rattles Republican Party Ahead of Midterms”