Trump adds back Iowa and Kansas rallies as early ballots pile up
The president reversed cancellations for Sunday events in two states holding competitive Senate contests as early voting runs ahead of 2022 levels.
By Mariam Saleh ·
President Donald Trump will hold rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday, reversing cancellations of both events as early voting climbs nationwide. A person familiar with the schedule described the plan on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced publicly. Trump's original itinerary had him in Salina, Kansas, on Saturday and Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday; the Iowa rally will now be in Cedar Rapids, according to a second person familiar with the plans.
The change follows a shift to phone-based events. The Republican National Committee said last week that Trump would drop the in-person rallies and instead take part in a 72-hour sprint of telerallies to reach more voters. The person familiar with the latest schedule said the Iowa and Kansas stops were rearranged to fit around the added telerallies. Trump told reporters on Thursday that the Kansas cancellation was not about his health. "I'm not going to Kansas because he's doing very well," Trump said, referring to Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, adding, "I feel perfect."
Early voting is running well ahead of the 2022 midterms. An Associated Press analysis of voting data found nearly 10 million more Americans had cast ballots five days before Election Day than at the same point four years ago. Iowa and Kansas, both holding competitive Senate races, show early voting up roughly 30%. Advance voting is also up more than 30% from the same point four years ago in Maine, Michigan and North Carolina. In Texas, 6.3 million voters had cast ballots early as of Wednesday, compared with 4.2 million at that point in 2020, a 50% increase. South Carolina early voting is up 83% as voters choose a successor to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Trump has held 25 rallies in October and promised at the start of the month to run a marathon of such events to help Republican candidates. He has already traveled to Iowa this month for Senate candidate Ashley Hinson, who serves in the House, and to Kansas for Marshall. In a Friday interview with a Kansas City radio station, Trump called Marshall "fantastic" and credited him with pushing administration policies for Kansas farmers, including expanded tax-free use of red-dyed diesel. Trump called Marshall's Democratic challenger, Methodist pastor Adam Hamilton, a "radical" who has "caused turmoil with the church because he's so liberal." Hamilton has said that if Jesus were standing before them now, "Roger Marshall would call him 'woke.'"
Both Iowa and Kansas will help decide whether Republicans keep their narrow Senate majority. Republicans have raised concerns about turnout among their own voters, citing dissatisfaction with Trump and high costs, the same issues Democrats have emphasized in their campaigns. Democrats and Republicans each say the surge in early ballots favors them.
In Michigan's Senate race, Rep. Haley Stevens has criticized Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat who narrowly beat her in the August primary, after agreeing to campaign with him and Rep. Jim Clyburn in Detroit on Sunday. Stevens wrote that El-Sayed could "begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford." Her fiance has said he will vote for Republican Mike Rogers. El-Sayed has apologized for some past comments while working to unify Democrats. Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard contributed to this report.
Trump's rallies in Iowa and Kansas are scheduled for Sunday.
