A Republican candidate running for Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District is in the spotlight after reports surfaced that he stripped mentions of Donald Trump’s agenda from his website despite receiving earlier endorsements from the president.
Although an innocuous move at first glance, Ralph Alvarado’s decision to remove mentions of Trump on his campaign materials comes as some worry the president’s slump in national polling could hurt the GOP in November’s midterms.
As first reported by NBC News and verified by USA TODAY, Alvarado’s website had mentions of the candidate's loyalty to the president, with text on June 9 that read “President Trump needs more allies in Congress to deliver on his bold vision to Make America Great Again. With your help,
I will be that fighter.”
According to NBC News and USA TODAY's review of an archived version of the campaign website, the text had changed by Aug. 24, focusing on Alvarado’s background as a physician instead of mentioning Trump.
“Healthcare isn’t a talking point to me—it’s been my life’s work. In Congress, I’ll work with both parties to fight for affordable healthcare, lower costs, and practical solutions that help Kentucky families,” Alvarado’s website now reads.
More changes made to the Republican candidate's website included removing photos showing Alvarado standing beside Trump, as well as a paragraph that characterized the 56-year-old politician as “one of President Trump’s earliest supporters." Now, the paragraph on the website describes Alvarado as an ardent supporter of bipartisanship who is focused on affordability.
Andy Westberry, Alvarado's campaign manager, disputes the changes made to the congressional candidate's website, telling USA TODAY in a statement: "We’ve proudly touted the endorsement, and our website still features a photo of Ralph with President Trump." A photo of Alvarado and Trump is on his campaign website, but it is now under the media tab and no longer on his homepage.
Trump called Alvarado an "America First Patriot" and gave him his "complete and total endorsement" in a Truth Social post in May. This led to the candidate quickly responding on X, saying: "Thank you President Trump for your COMPLETE and TOTAL ENDORSEMENT! I will not let you down!”
Polling woes
Alvarado’s campaign website changes come as Trump and the GOP as a whole face a grim outlook ahead of the midterm elections in November.
On Aug. 24, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed, for a second week in a row, Trump’s approval rating sitting at 33%, the lowest the president has seen in Reuters/Ipsos tracking since his return to the White House in 2025.
The numbers also tie Trump’s worst approval rating during his first term in office in December 2017.
Polling struggles for the president have pulled the GOP’s numbers down, as a poll from The Economist/YouGov showed Democrats continuing to hold a six-percentage-point advantage over Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Alavardo will face off against Democrat Zach Dembo for Kentucky's 6th District in November.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump-backed GOP candidate removes mentions of president from website
