Donald Trump’s Push Shapes 2026 Senate Map Amid Funding Questions

President Donald Trump has begun tying federal disaster‑aid approvals to political endorsements, approving 89% of requests from states with Republican leaders while approving only 23% from Democratic‑led states. He announced aid for swing states such as Michigan and Wisconsin while highlighting GOP Senate and gubernatorial candidates.

CNN data analyst Harry Enten reported that Trump is deeply unpopular in six pivotal Senate battlegrounds—Alaska, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina and Maine—where his net approval has fallen to minus 11 points. The analyst warned that this “anchor” could drag Republican Senate hopefuls down and hand Democrats a majority.

New York Times and Siena College polling shows Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to retake control, but the math is unfavorable: only a handful of races, such as in North Carolina and Texas, appear competitive, leaving the party well short of the target.

Meanwhile, Trump has reshaped the Senate map by sidelining incumbent Republicans and endorsing loyalists, including Ken Paxton in Texas and Michael Whatley in North Carolina. Although MAGA Inc., the president’s Super PAC, holds about $382 million, the scale and timing of its spending on these races remain uncertain.