Trump continues rally spree in attempt to blunt Dem momentum in midterms lead-up

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is rounding out his midterm travel blitz in the final sprint leading up to Election Day on Nov. 3. 

With just four days to go, the Republican Party is aiming to keep its narrow majority in the U.S. House and control of the Senate. 

But elections forecasters see a bleak outlook for the GOP, saying Democrats remain heavily favored to win the U.S. House, while Senate races continue to move in Democrats’ direction. 

Heading into Election Day, Trump faces anemic approval ratings amid the war in Iran and its impact on gas and diesel prices. 

The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter on Friday shifted a dozen races in Democrats’ favor.

The elections forecaster has identified 18 toss-up races in congressional districts in California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.  

Republicans are defending all but four of those seats. 

The forecaster on Friday also moved Senate races in Florida and Nebraska away from Republicans and in the direction of Florida Democrat Angie Nixon and Nebraska independent Dan Osborn.  

The Cook Political Report has declared seven toss-up Senate races in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas.

Pope among record early voters

As early voting continues across the country, total figures have eclipsed early voting totals in the 2022 midterms, according to data from the University of Florida Election Lab.

As of Friday afternoon, more than 48.5 million people had cast a vote — whether in person at the polls or by mailing in their ballot — per the UF Election Lab. 

In the 2022 midterm elections, 45.9 million Americans voted early, the UF Election Lab found. 

Standing among American voters is Pope Leo XIV, who cast his ballot in the midterm elections, the Vatican announced Friday. This makes Leo the first pope to vote in a U.S. election. 

Leo — a U.S. citizen who grew up in Illinois — submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago, according to the Vatican.    

Home-state rallies

As Trump’s midterm travel that began in early October hits its final stops, the president was slated to rally in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday. 

The Sunshine State, where the president is a registered voter, features a Senate race between incumbent GOP Sen. Ashley Moody and progressive Nixon, a Florida state legislator.  

The Cook Political Report moved the race from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican” on Friday.

Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to rally in Swanton, Ohio, on Monday. The Buckeye State features a toss-up Senate race, according to the Cook Political Report, between Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to fill Vance’s seat when he became vice president, and Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Kansas, Iowa on schedule

Trump’s two previously canceled Midwestern rallies this weekend are back on. 

The president will hold back-to-back rallies Sunday in Dubuque, Iowa, and  Salina, Kansas, while also holding nearly 20 telerallies in the last few days before the election. 

Iowa and Kansas are home to two Senate races the Cook Political Report has identified as toss-ups. 

Kansas GOP U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall is in a tight race against Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton. That race is now the most expensive election in Kansas history, according to Kansas Reflector. 

In Iowa, Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson is vying with Democratic state legislator Josh Turek to fill an open Senate seat.