Campaign strategies in a post-Trump landscape

I'm Scott Detro and this is Trump's Terms from NPR . Every episode we bring you one story from NPR's coverage of the Trump administration with a focus on actions and policies that take the presidency into uncharted territory. Here's the latest from NPR May Martinez . As the Republican Party nationally begins to consider with what it may look like after President Trump leaves office, the state of Utah could provide a road map. It is a solid red Republican state, but it hasn't been as supportive of Trump as other conservative states. MPR Sage Mill reports on how that complicated relationship is affecting the way Republican congressional candidates are campaigning. In Utah's third congressional district, both Congresswoman Celeste Mulloy and her challenger, former state lawmaker, Phil Lyman, are strong conservatives and supporters of the president , but neither is mentioning him much when talking to voters. Many Republican voters in Utah have made their peace with Donald Trump enough to vote for him. That's Chris Karpowitz. He is a political science professor at Brigham Young University. But that doesn't mean they necessarily support either his style of politics or some of the policies that he pursues. Instead, the candidates are deploying old campaign strategies from before loyalty to Trump became a litness test. They're focusing on issues affecting the district. Part of it is because Utah has never been that fond of Trump . In twenty sixteen, Utahans gave him the smallest margin of victory out of any Republican state. Now two years into Trump's final term, his approval rating hit an all time low among Utah . Walking through a sprawling community in Utah County, volunteers with Phil Lyman's campaign never mentioned the president , but they had a very consistent message. We are here supporting Phil Lym an because we feel like he's really big into transparency and trying to clean up government corruption. Lyman is a candidate Utah voters are familiar with. Lyman was pardoned by Trump after he led an illegal ATV protest on protect ed federal land . As a state lawmaker, he aligned himself with the MAGA movement. Now, reflecting on the current divide in the Republican Party, Lyman says he's more of an America first guy. He believes the Republican Party leadership has lost sight of its blue collar working class roots. I believe in the Constitution. I believe in government staying in its lanes. I believe that government closer to the people is better. I don't like centralized power. Representative Millie has been taking a campaign approach that emphasizes the success she's had in Congress . Milloy did not respond to NPR's multiple interview requests. In the primary debate for Utah's third Congressional District, Milloy defended her work in Washington. I think people in CD three are going to be looking for someone who can competently represent their issues on a national stage and solve problems. She praised the tax cuts outlined in the one big beautiful bill , though she never called them Trump tax cuts or even acknowledged the name of the legislation coined by the president. Damon Can is an professor of political science at Utah State University. He says Utah's Republican delegation, including Maloy, have done a good job at walking the line. They're not running as Trump Republicans. They're run ning as Republicans who happened to have had support from Trump in the past. Malloy, though, has Trump's support this time too. Karp z, the BYU professor, believes Trump's endorsement won 't hurt Malloy, but it likely isn't the golden ticket in Utah. Republicans in Utah are ambivalent enough about Donald Trump that I don't think it carries quite the same weight that it might in other states , especially in a state where Republicans are loyal to the party and not necessarily the president. Sage Miller, NPR News, Provo, Utah . Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR politics podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon . And thanks as always to our NPR plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsored messages. You can learn more at plus dot nprot. org. I'm Scott Detro. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.