MAGA Gets Ready to Fly White Flag in Two Battleground States

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty Republicans are considering surrendering a pair of Senate races in states that President Donald Trump won in 2024, a new report alleges.

GOP operatives are considering pulling spending on Senate races in Georgia and North Carolina, insiders tell Politico , in what is the latest proof that Republican odds of maintaining control of the upper chamber are falling fast.

Rumblings of a southern surrender come as GOP operatives fear that spending money to prop up those candidates could leave them vulnerable in once-safe seats that have become competitive elsewhere in the country, Politico reports, citing “well-placed party sources.” If true, GOP spending against Georgia Sen.

Jon Ossoff—who flipped the seat in 2021 and is now a top 2028 presidential contender—would dry up, surely dooming his scandal-plagued MAGA opponent, Rep.

Mike Collins.

Ossoff led Collins by 7 points in a survey conducted this month by Republican pollster Trafalgar Group.

Retiring Republican Sen.

Thom Tillis’ seat in North Carolina is also being viewed as a likely flip in GOP circles, Politico’s reporting suggests.

The site reports that internal GOP polling shows former North Carolina Gov.

Roy Cooper with a double-digit lead over the Republican candidate, Michael Whatley.

Trump has thrown his full weight behind Whatley, traveling to North Carolina for a rally earlier this month.

Vice President JD Vance followed suit with his own event on Monday—though a local NPR affiliate reported that the crowd at Vance’s rally numbered only about 300 in a convention center with a capacity of 3,000.

Photos showed attendees nodding off and others absorbed in their phones.

Republican strategists believe their money would be better spent on Senate races in Michigan and New Hampshire, where they think the party has a stronger chance of winning, sources tell Politico.