The National Republican Congressional Committee announced plans to establish 10 new field hubs in competitive districts and target seven additional Democrat-held seats in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The NRCC added seven candidates to its battleground program—all of whom have received President Trump endorsements. The move signals Trump's direct influence over the party's candidate selection as the 2026 cycle takes shape.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee responded by adding 12 Republican-held and leaning seats to its offensive target list, including those held by Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Richard Hudson of North Carolina. Those additions bring the DCCC's total offensive targets to 58 seats. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicap rates nearly all of these districts as "Solid Republican."
NRCC Chair Richard Hudson said: "While House Democrats are consumed by infighting and lurching further to the far left, Republicans continue to build the strongest candidate roster in the country."
The sway of Trump's endorsement is clearest in New York's 21st Congressional District, where Anthony Constantino secured the GOP nomination to replace Rep. Elise Stefanik after her retirement.
Constantino, 43, chief executive of Sticker Mule, a custom printing company, has made Trump loyalty a centerpiece of his public identity. His factory displays a 100-foot-wide "Vote for Trump" sign. In 2025, he commissioned a 7-foot bronze statue of Trump, valued at approximately $250,000, now on display at Trump's West Palm Beach golf course.
Constantino released a hip-hop album titled "Thank You, President Trump" last year. After Trump shared a rap song from the album on Truth Social in June, the track went viral.
Constantino said his overt support was necessary to counter stigma. He claimed repeated boycotts cost Sticker Mule hundreds of thousands of customers. "Somebody needs to be tough, or what happens is every time somebody says they like the president, they get their head taken off," he said. "They get criticized, and then they either stay quiet or they apologize sometimes, and so, I was like, I got to go the other way."
Trump noticed. He mentioned Constantino's factory sign in April when endorsing him, a time when Trump's path to the GOP nomination remained uncertain.
Constantino, a political newcomer with a background in professional boxing, was not the New York GOP establishment's preferred successor to Stefanik. He defeated state Assemblyman Robert Smullen by 19 points in a June primary. Roger Stone, a longtime Trump operative, encouraged Constantino to run in late 2024, facilitated a dinner to discuss working in Washington, and urged Trump to issue an endorsement.
