What are the key takeaways from this The Daily (NYT) episode?

Key insights include: **The Collins Formula:** Susan Collins, first elected in 1996, built a pre-Trump identity around Appropriations Committee work, bipartisan deal-making, and delivering federal funding to Maine. That 29-year track record gives her credibility that newer candidates cannot replicate overnight. NYT analysis confirms she is the single most Trump-contrary Republican in Congress, making her competitive in a state Democrats have carried in at least three consecutive presidential elections.; **The Sununu Gambit:** John Sununu is running in New Hampshire — a state that hasn't elected a Republican senator since 2010, where Democrats won by 16 and 9 points in 2020 and 2022 respectively. His strategy: explicitly state he has never met Trump, oppose the Iran war and Canadian tariffs, and frame the race around post-Trump Republican identity in 2028 and beyond, trailing by only five points in the latest NYT/Sienna poll.; **Late Distancing Rarely Works:** Republicans like Iowa's Ashley Hinson, who publicly pledged to be Trump's strongest Senate ally, are now running bipartisan-themed ads without the voting record to back them up. Kansas incumbent Roger Marshall, a consistent Trump ally, faces a surprisingly close race against Democrat Adam Hamilton, suggesting that last-minute repositioning without substantive policy breaks fails to persuade voters already skeptical of the pivot.

What did Jess Bidgood discuss on The Daily (NYT)?

NYT reporter Jess Bidgood analyzes how moderate Republicans — specifically Susan Collins in Maine and John Sununu in New Hampshire — are running competitive 2025 midterm campaigns by distancing themselves from Trump, whose approval ratings sit in the thirties, while MAGA-aligned candidates in Iowa, Kansas, and Texas face unexpectedly tight races. Key topics include: **The Collins Formula:** Susan Collins, first elected in 1996, built a pre-Trump identity around Appropriations Committee work, bipartisan deal-making, and delivering federal funding to Maine. That 29-year track record gives her credibility that newer candidates cannot replicate overnight. NYT analysis confirms she is the single most Trump-contrary Republican in Congress, making her competitive in a state Democrats have carried in at least three consecutive presidential elections.; **The Sununu Gambit:** John Sununu is running in New Hampshire — a state that hasn't elected a Republican senator since 2010, where Democrats won by 16 and 9 points in 2020 and 2022 respectively. His strategy: explicitly state he has never met Trump, oppose the Iran war and Canadian tariffs, and frame the race around post-Trump Republican identity in 2028 and beyond, trailing by only five points in the latest NYT/Sienna poll..

How long is this episode of The Daily (NYT)?

This episode is 37 minutes long. SignalCast provides an AI-generated summary so you can get the key insights in about 3 minutes.

The Daily (NYT)

Is Running From Trump Enough to Save Republicans on Tuesday?

October 28, 2026

37 min episode · 2 min read

Jess Bidgood

Episode

37 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Fundraising & VC, Economics & Policy, History

AI-Generated Summary

Published Oct 28, 2026

Key Takeaways

✓The Collins Formula: Susan Collins, first elected in 1996, built a pre-Trump identity around Appropriations Committee work, bipartisan deal-making, and delivering federal funding to Maine. That 29-year track record gives her credibility that newer candidates cannot replicate overnight. NYT analysis confirms she is the single most Trump-contrary Republican in Congress, making her competitive in a state Democrats have carried in at least three consecutive presidential elections.
✓The Sununu Gambit: John Sununu is running in New Hampshire — a state that hasn't elected a Republican senator since 2010, where Democrats won by 16 and 9 points in 2020 and 2022 respectively. His strategy: explicitly state he has never met Trump, oppose the Iran war and Canadian tariffs, and frame the race around post-Trump Republican identity in 2028 and beyond, trailing by only five points in the latest NYT/Sienna poll.
✓Late Distancing Rarely Works: Republicans like Iowa's Ashley Hinson, who publicly pledged to be Trump's strongest Senate ally, are now running bipartisan-themed ads without the voting record to back them up. Kansas incumbent Roger Marshall, a consistent Trump ally, faces a surprisingly close race against Democrat Adam Hamilton, suggesting that last-minute repositioning without substantive policy breaks fails to persuade voters already skeptical of the pivot.
✓The Texas Warning Sign: Ken Paxton, Trump's endorsed Senate candidate in Texas — a state Republicans have held since 1988 — trails Democrat James Talarico in multiple consecutive polls. This signals that Trump's endorsement alone cannot overcome a deeply flawed candidate, and that even reliably red states carry measurable electoral risk when the Republican brand is under sustained national pressure.
✓The Permission Slip Scenario: If Paxton loses Texas while Collins holds Maine, Republican strategists may interpret the results as political clearance to distance themselves from Trump during his lame-duck period. Unlike his post-first-term years, Trump cannot run again, reducing his leverage over incumbents, though he retains RNC control and significant fundraising power that still shapes candidate viability heading into 2028.

What It Covers

NYT reporter Jess Bidgood analyzes how moderate Republicans — specifically Susan Collins in Maine and John Sununu in New Hampshire — are running competitive 2025 midterm campaigns by distancing themselves from Trump, whose approval ratings sit in the thirties, while MAGA-aligned candidates in Iowa, Kansas, and Texas face unexpectedly tight races.

Key Questions Answered

•The Collins Formula: Susan Collins, first elected in 1996, built a pre-Trump identity around Appropriations Committee work, bipartisan deal-making, and delivering federal funding to Maine. That 29-year track record gives her credibility that newer candidates cannot replicate overnight. NYT analysis confirms she is the single most Trump-contrary Republican in Congress, making her competitive in a state Democrats have carried in at least three consecutive presidential elections.
•The Sununu Gambit: John Sununu is running in New Hampshire — a state that hasn't elected a Republican senator since 2010, where Democrats won by 16 and 9 points in 2020 and 2022 respectively. His strategy: explicitly state he has never met Trump, oppose the Iran war and Canadian tariffs, and frame the race around post-Trump Republican identity in 2028 and beyond, trailing by only five points in the latest NYT/Sienna poll.
•Late Distancing Rarely Works: Republicans like Iowa's Ashley Hinson, who publicly pledged to be Trump's strongest Senate ally, are now running bipartisan-themed ads without the voting record to back them up. Kansas incumbent Roger Marshall, a consistent Trump ally, faces a surprisingly close race against Democrat Adam Hamilton, suggesting that last-minute repositioning without substantive policy breaks fails to persuade voters already skeptical of the pivot.
•The Texas Warning Sign: Ken Paxton, Trump's endorsed Senate candidate in Texas — a state Republicans have held since 1988 — trails Democrat James Talarico in multiple consecutive polls. This signals that Trump's endorsement alone cannot overcome a deeply flawed candidate, and that even reliably red states carry measurable electoral risk when the Republican brand is under sustained national pressure.
•The Permission Slip Scenario: If Paxton loses Texas while Collins holds Maine, Republican strategists may interpret the results as political clearance to distance themselves from Trump during his lame-duck period. Unlike his post-first-term years, Trump cannot run again, reducing his leverage over incumbents, though he retains RNC control and significant fundraising power that still shapes candidate viability heading into 2028.

Notable Moment

Bidgood describes how Ohio's Republican governor Mike DeWine — a career politician predating Trump — publicly condemned Vivek Ramaswamy's Senate campaign ad as deeply troubling, actively risking Ramaswamy's electoral chances to signal that pre-Trump establishment Republicans still exist and intend to shape the party's direction.

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Episode Transcript

Investing with Schwab is like spending a Saturday at a great farmer's market. You can fill your reusable tote with a bit of everything. Maybe you go for some free range, self directed investing, or perhaps you pick up a few farm fresh trades while you peruse. You can even get help from a dedicated adviser. That's full service wealth management. Mix match and change your mind whenever you want. Because at Schwab, you can invest your way. No matter your goals or appetite for investing, Schwab has everything you need all in one place. Visit schwab.com to learn more. This is David. Hi, David. How are you? This is Caitlin calling from The New York Times. Hi. I'm well. Thanks. How are you, Caitlin? I'm good. It's so good to meet you. Thank you. For the past few months, my colleague, daily producer Caitlin O'Keefe, has been calling up voters across Maine to hear how they're feeling ahead of Tuesday's election. Recently, she spoke to a voter named David Bessie. I'm a Portland, Maine resident. We have been here for three years. I grew up in Waterville, Maine, and now my wife and I have retired back to my home state. And can you tell me, like, a little bit about your political identity? Is there a political party that you've historically identified with? Yeah. I consider myself an anti Magna Republican. I think that I am generally more right of center in my political views, but I think that Trump and the Trump presidency, both Trump one and two has been an absolute disaster for the country. I think the party is corrupt and self dealing and honestly incompetent. I think that the whole Doge viasco was a missed opportunity to really make a difference. And I think that the immigration and ICE, how that has evolved under this presidency has been horrible. But I'm not a democrat. I think that the democrats under Biden especially really followed what amounted to an open borders policy. I think that the influence of unions on the Democratic party is not a positive thing. I think that the Democrats kind of failed economics one zero one in general. They think that spending money is gonna solve problems rather than trying to solve the problems and then think about money afterwards. And it just seems goofy to me. I I can't wrap my head around why anybody would think that would be a logical thing to do. And the Democratic party, it appears like it's... If anything, it's veering more to the left rather than to the center where I wish they would go. Which kinda brings us to this senate race and why I'm struggling as much as I am with it. I think that Troy Jackson is really a standard liberal democrat who's gonna fall in line with the democratic party. Susan Collins, on the other hand, you know, she's consistently rated one of the senators who's willing to cross …

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