GOP candidates split on Trump in key Senate and governor debates

With the midterm elections a little more than three weeks away, some Republicans running in key Senate and governor races distanced themselves from President Donald Trump and his policies, while others embraced them.

Trump's approval rating has hit a second-term low and a near-record low for his presidency, with 30% of Americans approving and 68% disapproving; it's down 4 percentage points from July, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. Trump's approval rating hit 29% shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

One notable example came from the two Maine Senate debates between incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson.

In both debates, Collins discussed her record of voting against Trump and, at times, bucking her party to work across the aisle.

“I voted with President Biden 91% of the time. The fact is, this year alone, this Congress alone, I voted against President Trump 137 times," Collins said in Thursday night's debate.

Collins also expressed her disapproval of the war in Iran, saying that she believes it is "not well thought out" and that it has caused adverse circumstances in terms of the cost of global oil.

As Trump's trade war with Canada continues, Collins emphasized her opposition to Trump's tariffs on Canada, a country whose economy is intertwined with Maine, which borders the country.

In Michigan's gubernatorial debate Tuesday evening, Republican candidate Rep. John James called for the Iran war to end quickly, specifically saying "the war in Iran needs to be over yesterday."

In Georgia's gubernatorial debate Tuesday evening, GOP candidate Rick Jackson, who at one point campaigned on being "Trump’s favorite governor," is now changing his tune.

When his Democratic opponent, Keisha Lance Bottoms, tried to tie Jackson to the president, Jackson instead aligned himself with popular two-term GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

"Let me tell you something. I don't owe anybody, anything. Nobody's ever told me what to do. My No. 1 priority is Georgians. It's you. And I will stand up to anybody, just like Brian Kemp has done. He works with both parties, both presidents, and he stands up when he disagrees," Jackson said during Tuesday's debate.

Jackson also never mentioned the president by name.

While some Republicans worked to distance themselves from Trump during their debate, Georgia GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins emphasized his support of Trump on the Iran war during his first debate Thursday evening.

When asked if he would defend the Iran war, Collins said, "the president had every right to go in there and make sure that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon."