10 million: Early vote surge prompts Trump to restore canceled Iowa, Kansas rallies
The president reversed his weekend plans to campaign in two key Senate battlegrounds as advance voting outpaced 2022 levels by a wide margin.
By Nour Haddad ·
President Donald Trump added Iowa and Kansas back to his campaign calendar for this weekend, reversing a decision to hold phone-in rallies. The change comes as early voting numbers spike nationwide, with nearly 10 million more Americans casting ballots five days before Election Day than at the same point in 2022, according to an Associated Press analysis.
A person familiar with the plans said the two in-person events were previously canceled. Trump will now visit Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sunday. His previous itinerary called for a stop in Dubuque. He will also hold a rally in Salina, Kansas, on Saturday. The Republican National Committee initially announced that the president would conduct a 72-hour sprint of phone rallies to reach a wider audience.
Early voting increases are particularly strong in states with competitive Senate races. In Iowa and Kansas, advance voting is up roughly 30% compared to the same point in the 2022 midterm cycle. Trump has already visited both states this month to support Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson in Iowa and incumbent Senator Roger Marshall in Kansas.
On Thursday, Trump dismissed concerns that his health or fatigue caused the original cancellation. Speaking to reporters after returning to Washington from South Carolina, he said he felt perfect. He added that he did not feel he had to go to Kansas because Marshall was doing very well. The president also stated that he is not going to Kansas because his candidate is performing strongly.
The midterm elections have focused on affordability and the president's popularity. Republicans are worried that voter dissatisfaction with high costs could suppress turnout for their candidates. Democrats believe the surge in early voting favors their efforts to win control of Congress. Trump has headlined 25 rallies in October alone as part of a push to shore up his party's slate.
In Kansas, Trump called Senator Marshall fantastic in a Friday interview with a Kansas City radio station. He credited the senator for pushing administration policies that help farmers, including expanding tax-free use of red-dyed diesel. Trump criticized Marshall's Democratic challenger, Adam Hamilton, as a radical who caused turmoil within the church due to his liberal views. Hamilton, a Methodist pastor, previously said that if Jesus were standing before them now, Marshall would call him woke.
Texas also saw a major jump in advance voting. More than 6.3 million Texans had voted early as of Wednesday, a 50% increase over the same point four years ago when 4.2 million had cast ballots. South Carolina, where voters are choosing a successor to the late Senator Lindsey Graham, saw early voting rise by 83%. Maine, Michigan, and North Carolina also recorded increases of more than 30%.
Michigan Democrats are dealing with renewed conflict in their Senate race. Representative Haley Stevens, who lost the primary to Abdul El-Sayed in August, appeared on CNN to say she would vote for El-Sayed. Her appearance followed a comment from her fiancé that he would vote for Republican Mike Rogers. Stevens released a statement on social media on Friday asking El-Sayed to address his past rhetoric and an advertisement linking U.S. support for Israel to grocery prices.
