WASHINGTON, D.C. — With just three weeks until Election Day, President Trump is hitting the campaign trail in states Republicans thought were safe.
But now, a tightening Senate map has the GOP scrambling to hold its ground. President Trump is taking his message on the road this week to Ohio, Alaska, Montana and Georgia, rallying Republicans as control of Congress hangs in the balance.
“For some reason, when you have a sitting president, no matter how good — nobody’s done what I’ve done, nobody, not even close — but no matter how good, they seem to be at a big disadvantage, a tremendous disadvantage,” said President Trump on Tuesday.
Trump kicked off the week in Ohio on Monday, rallying for Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidates. On Tuesday, Trump departed the White House for Alaska, where Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich are counting on a boost.
“You can expect more of the midterm blitz,” said the new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia. “We’ve added Kentucky… we have a few other stops as he goes down to Florida.”
Democrats are favored to flip the House, but the Senate, once seen as a safe bet for Republicans, could too be up for grabs.
“The Republicans really thought that they had a really good chance of holding on to the Senate,” said Dr. Todd Belt, professor and director of the Political Management Master’s Program at George Washington University. “But things have really turned around and the map has expanded.”
Senate races in Iowa, Alaska and even Kansas are now in the crosshairs of Democrats, as voters zero in on the economy and affordability.
“People are saying that they just can’t afford the things the way they used to, their wages are not keeping up,” Belt said.
The president also has events planned in Montana and Georgia later this week. Belt says the rallies can energize the base and boost down-ballot candidates.
“The Republicans are really on their heels and sending out Donald Trump to really try to reinforce their message,” said Belt. “It’s obvious that Donald Trump’s polling numbers are really getting to him and he’s trying to reverse that narrative by showing him in these big rallies.”
But at the end of the day, it’s all about turnout.
“Most importantly, they got to get the people who support them out to vote,” said Belt. “Turnout is really big for both the Democrats and the Republicans, because even though people are really upset with Donald Trump and want to register their discontent with him, both sides have to get their people out. And neither party is really happy with their party right now. Even though people are frustrated with Donald Trump that doesn’t mean they like Democrats very much. In fact, they don’t.”
“What really matters for people who haven’t made up their mind towards the end is the characteristics of the candidates. The candidates need to talk about themselves, to a lesser extent, they need to define the alternative candidate,” Belt added.
With early voting already underway in several states, the final stages of the fight for control of Congress are well underway.
