Two days before the midterms, Trump campaigns in Iowa and Kansas as the Senate hangs in the balance and Michigan Democrats feud
President Trump was scheduled to travel on Sunday to Iowa and Kansas, two conservative states that have turned into Senate battlegrounds, two days before the midterm elections, as Democrats tried to ease extraordinary intraparty tensions in Michigan in the national fight for control of the chamber.
Mr. Trump was scheduled to speak in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday afternoon, before a rally in Salina, Kansas. He won both states by double digits in 2024, but their agriculture-heavy economies have been hit hard by elevated gasoline, diesel and fertilizer prices, which were driven up by the Iran war.
Democrats believe they have a chance to ride voters' economic discontent to Senate victories in both states. In Iowa, Representative Ashley Hinson, a Republican, faces Josh Turek, a Democratic state lawmaker. In Kansas, Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican, is trying to fend off the Rev. Adam Hamilton, a centrist Democrat.
Nationally, the Senate battle is a tossup, but strategists in both parties say Democrats are in a strong position to win back the House. The party that holds the White House typically loses seats in Congress in midterm elections.
With the elections in two days, Mr. Trump is working to help his party stave off Democratic advances in deeply conservative corners of the country. Republicans have been weighed down by high prices and Mr. Trump's unpopularity but are trying to exploit Democratic infighting to flip a Senate seat in Michigan.
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, has sought to shore up his support among Black voters. He was expected to attend a church service on Sunday in Detroit with Representative James E. Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina and one of the highest-ranking African Americans in Congress.
But the event, intended as a unity gathering, has turned into a spectacle for the party. Dr. El-Sayed had been expected to appear with Representative Haley Stevens, whom he narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary in August, in an effort to move past her recent criticisms of him. That plan fell apart this weekend, with Ms. Stevens and Dr. El-Sayed publicly feuding over U.S. policy on Israel.
On Saturday, Dr. El-Sayed urged Ms. Stevens to stay away from the event, while an adviser to Mr. Clyburn said Ms. Stevens was still welcome. It was unclear whether she would attend.
Mr. Trump, who spent Saturday holding tele-rallies in Florida, shrugged off the political headwinds facing his party, telling reporters that 'the country has never done better.'
