• by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, October 12, 2016

With just 26 days left before November 8, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appears to have severed ties with the Republican party.

“It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me, and I can now fight for America the way I want to,” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. He added a couple of jabs at Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. John McCain just for good measure.

Questions about leadership support for the nominee have existed since Trump won the nomination. A number of top GOP lawmakers, including Sens. Ted Cruz and Lindsay Graham, took more than a while to tacitly endorse their nominee or tame their criticism.

Recently, aside from never-Trumpers, such as Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush, mainstream Republican leaders seemed intent on defeating Hillary Clinton with whomever they had.

Then came the “Access Hollywood” tape and the second presidential debate.

Trump now appears to be a renegade nominee, ostracized from the core of the Republican Party. But that’s the way he likes it, saying: “Now I can fight for America the way I want to.”

On Monday, the Republican with the brightest future in American politics, House Speaker Paul Ryan, announced to his caucus that he would no longer campaign for Trump or appear beside him.

The list of Republican lawmakers who have un-endorsed Trump in recent days is dizzying. It includes, among others: Rep. Jason Chaffetz (UT), Rep. Martha Roby (AL), Sen. Mike Crapo (ID), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Sen. Mark Kirk (IL), Sen. Mike Lee (UT).

Several, like Ayotte, are in tight races and hope to distance themselves from the radioactive Trump.

The private Republican National Committee, however, led by Reince Priebus, has stuck around, reiterating support for Trump. The disconnect between the head of the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives and the head of the RNC is stark. Whatever the outcome of the election, major questions loom about how they will reconcile.

There are now effectively two wings of the GOP at odds with each other. One side is desperately trying to retain control of Congress. The other is trying to elect the most disliked and unconscionable candidate in a lifetime.

The election is over November 8. But the battle for the soul of the Republican Party has just begun.