Trump Holds Final Rallies in Iowa and Kansas as Midterm Looms

President Donald Trump is concluding a volatile midterm season with campaign appearances in Iowa and Kansas, two states he has historically dominated. The rallies come as Republicans seek to maintain their majorities in both the House and the Senate.

In Dubuque, Iowa, Trump spoke for two hours on Sunday before traveling to Salina, Kansas. He told the crowd that Republicans were poised for a sweep on Election Day. "We're going to elect ‘America first’ Republicans up and down the line," he said. More than 54 million votes had already been cast by the time of his address.

The final days of the campaign have become a test of Trump's influence within a party he reshaped during his first term. This year, his strategy focuses on defending states he won in 2020, rather than flipping those that supported President Joe Biden. Voters in these areas are questioning the economic impact of recent tariffs and the war in Iran.

While the GOP faces defensive challenges, Democrats are dealing with fractures of their own. In Michigan, Haley Stevens, the former opponent of Sen. Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers. Stevens, a congresswoman who had criticized El-Sayed for his stance on Israel, announced the switch after an invitation to a Democratic event was rescinded.

"Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away," Stevens said in a video announcing the endorsement. "And he’s right. And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today."

Leaders in the Senate sought to unify the party after the endorsement. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said the party was united in its support for El-Sayed. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, stated the party would stand firmly behind El-Sayed and reject efforts to divide Democrats. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont also defended El-Sayed, noting that Stevens had lost a close primary but that voters were standing with their nominee.

Michigan is a critical battleground for Democrats. Losing that seat would force them to win races in more conservative states like Texas, Ohio, and Kansas to retake the Senate. In Iowa, Trump supporters expressed confidence in the president's second term. Jon Lutz, a 60-year-old civil engineer in Dubuque, said he was happy with Trump's record and wanted Republicans to keep control of Congress to advance his agenda.

Trump paused his rally schedule on Saturday to attend a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He told guests the country had never done better. Outgoing Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska warned that tariffs might weigh on Republican chances in the Midwest. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, however, expressed confidence that Republicans would keep the Senate, noting that the midterm election is a referendum on Trump's agenda.