Republicans in storm states face 'balancing act' on response so close to election

Republicans in storm-hit states are walking a tightrope as they work with a Democratic White House to help their states recover from election-season, back-to-back hurricanes while managing the optics of appearing too close to a party their base despises.

The affected states, mainly Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, are packed with GOP heavyweights who have offered mixed reviews of President Joe Biden's hurricane response. Doing anything to hinder federal aid could slow their state's recovery, hurting their record and opening themselves up to attacks; cozying up to Biden risks tarnishing their party credentials with conservative voters who could punish them down the road.

Disaster politics have reared their head in the past.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's warm greeting of then-President Barack Obama on a tarmac in the thick of the 2012 race after Hurricane Sandy led to a conservative outcry that was referenced at times even during his 2024 presidential run. Then-GOP Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's hug with Obama fresh off the 2008 race as part of the White House's tour touting its plan for recession recovery essentially ended his future in Republican politics.

"I think voters generally are forgiving, even those staunchest conservatives, are forgiving of their Republican governor needing to coordinate with the White House to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens. But there's a difference between doing that and then being overly obsequious with a president from a different party," said one Florida GOP operative.

"It's a bit of a balancing act. I don't think that any of these Republican governors are reticent to speak to Biden. In fact, it's their job. They need to do that," the person said. "But are they more measured or careful about publicly bro-hugging like Christie and Obama did on the tarmac? I'm sure that will never happen again."

Republicans striking that balance include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis.

DeSantis has been in touch with Biden but has avoided appearing in his state with the president and engaged in a spat with Vice President Kamala Harris over their lack of communication, trading barbs of politicizing the crisis. Kemp has thanked Biden for the federal response but also declined to be seen with Biden -- while making a joint appearance with former President Donald Trump. And Tillis initially praised federal efforts before more recently saying resources are "moving a little bit more slowly than I'd hope."

The dual storms of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which wrought devastation across three states with outsized electoral sway, are taking place less than a month before Election Day and as some voters are already casting ballots.

Republicans are loathe to offer Harris any praise before Nov. 5, wary of bolstering any claims she has of bipartisan bona fides in a race that's on the knife's edge.

Trump is also hammering the White House for its response, which the Florida operative said "probably" limits other Republicans' bandwidth for positive reviews of the federal response.

But there are also more personal goals to keep in mind.

Tillis is up for reelection in two years in what will be one of the 2026 election cycle's marquee Senate races. Kemp is rumored to be considering a run for Senate against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, that year or keeping options open for a White House run down the line. And DeSantis, whose own presidential campaign sputtered this year, could make a second run.

That makes appearances of being chummy with Harris not only unhelpful this year but also personal vulnerabilities in future cycles.

"Elected Republicans are terrified of being labeled a RINO. The Republican base views Democrats as the enemy and why would you ever hug your enemy unless you were soft on them?" said GOP strategist Alex Conant, referencing a modern-day slur for "Republican In Name Only."

Christie's experience running in cycles after Sandy offers a cautionary tale for Republicans.

To be certain, Christie's handling of the storm helped him win reelection in a hostile state, and had he shunned the federal government, he could've gotten tagged for politicizing the historic storm in the other direction.

But the "hug" with Obama remained an attack line even 12 years later.

Mike DuHaime, a top Christie ally who worked on his 2016 and 2024 White House bids, said the hurricane response was not solely responsible for tanking the campaign but that complaints about it were heard, especially the farther Christie traveled from the Northeast.

For their part, key Republicans have insisted politics aren't at play.

Kemp, while pushing for more counties to be added to the federal disaster declaration list, has made a point of thanking Biden for his help. And even amid his feud with Harris, DeSantis has said that he has worked well in the past with presidents of both parties during disasters, insisting it is the vice president who is politicizing the situation.

And interactions with Biden and Harris this year are not quite an apples-to-apples comparison to Christie's hurricane response with Obama 12 years ago.

For one thing, Harris is not a sitting president running for a second term, offering Republicans more bandwidth to avoid appearing with her without looking as if they're politicizing the recovery.

"The buck stops with the president," said Dave Tamasi, a GOP lobbyist and Christie ally. "I don't think most people think, and I say this without trying to be disrespectful, but I don't think most people think of the vice president, even if that person's running for office for president, as the decision maker when it comes to hurricanes and response management."

Biden himself has also praised local Republicans, including saying DeSantis has been "very gracious."

Some Republicans added that DeSantis' spat with Harris has opened an attack line accusing her of being the one to politicize the response, particularly amid GOP claims that the vice president was less involved in previous disasters and that Biden has been in touch with key lawmakers.

DeSantis has "a pretty good BS sniffer, and Kamala calling in the middle of all this, pretty much felt like a BS red flag, because he just talked to the president," said GOP strategist Chip Saltsman.

And, according to some strategists who spoke with ABC News, parallels to Christie's 2012 response were overblown. Christie's true downfall was his centrism, they claimed, and effective handling of a hurricane is a priority for voters, and doing so will be viewed kindly in future races.

"I don't think there's really any political risk, for any member of any party, to be a strong leader and be an effective executive for state that's going through a crisis," said GOP pollster Robert Blizzard, who polled former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's handling of natural disasters in the 2016 GOP primary and found no harm from working with the Obama administration.

In the end, lawmakers will be judged no matter what, DuHaime said -- so Republicans should just focus on helping their constituents as much as they can.

"You do the right thing, provide for your constituents, and then let people judge however," he told ABC News.

"There were some primary voters who vilified [Christie] in years to come. But at the end of the day, if you ask me, those are the ones playing politics. Those are the people who are basically saying you should put politics ahead of your constituents, as if you should turn down help from the federal government when your constituents are in need."