Two days out from Election Day, Trump rallies for Iowa Republicans in Dubuque

DUBUQUE — President Donald Trump urged Iowans to vote for Republicans in the midterms during a Dubuque rally Sunday, telling voters Democratic majorities would reverse work done by his administration to lower costs and would usher in “socialism.”

“On election night, Iowa is going to prove that America does not belong to those who hate it, America belongs to those who love it,” he said.

His speech at the Five Flags Center two days before Election Day, supporting Iowa Republican candidates, is the second time the president has been to Iowa in the weeks leading up to the 2026 midterm elections. The two Iowa events come as several of the state’s races are expected to be much more competitive in 2026 than in previous election cycles — and could play a vital role in determining control of both the U.S. House and Senate.

The president’s visit comes as election forecasters and some polls show Republicans at risk of losing their congressional majorities. Trump told the crowd to unite behind GOP candidates in the upcoming election or risk allowing “extremists” to take control.

“In state after state, the Democrat Party has nominated the most extreme and dangerous radicals in American history,” Trump said. “They openly are promising to abolish your borders and let millions of third-world migrants ransack, rape, and plunder your communities. They want to steal your wealth and give it to fraudsters, thieves, and stupid people like that.”

In addition to speaking about support he has provided for Iowa in office such as $12 billion in subsidies for farmers, he repeated a campaign pitch that if Republicans win both chambers of Congress, he would give $5,000 to every American, which he said was possible because the country was “taking in massive amounts (of) money through tariffs and record-setting economic success.” Even if Republicans win both chambers, there is not a guarantee that the appropriations measure would be approved by federal lawmakers.

“The Democrats love to say, ‘Well, he’ll never pull that off.’ They would say that about me, and then I pulled everything off,” Trump said.

Trump spoke in support of U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, saying if she is elected to the U.S. Senate, “we will make year-round E-15 permanent” while emphasizing laws passed over the last two years by the Republican-led Congress like the “One, Big Beautiful Bill” Act which he said delivered “the largest tax cuts in American history, including no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on social security tax.”

Hinson, who currently represents Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, is running against Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek for the open U.S. Senate seat currently represented by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst.

He also made a remark that he said might be “inappropriate” about her being “little bit heavier” when they first met — commenting on his own weight that he had “put on a couple of pounds.”

Trump was interrupted by a protester who was escorted out of the event, but finished the story, saying, “Ashley knew the importance of what this was, and how important it was, and boy … She went on a regimen. She put herself in shape. She’s in perfect shape … and she did that for you.”

Trump says Iowa caucuses ‘go to the back of the pack’ if GOP loses; RPI says he was joking

He also spoke about his fondness for Iowa and being “proud” to win Iowa in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections — and said because of his efforts, the Iowa GOP caucuses are still leading the presidential nominating cycle while national Democrats stripped Iowa of its “first in the nation” status.

“They wanted to move you to the back of the pack. I said, ‘We’re not moving Iowa anywhere,'” Trump said. But if Republicans lose in 2026, Trump said, “I won’t have any control,” and he would not have the power to keep the Iowa Republican caucuses first.

“I don’t want to use this in any way that’s inappropriate,” Trump said. “But frankly, if we don’t win, you go into the back of the pack. If we do win, you stay first in the nation. Now, that sounds like a little tricky wording. It’s not tricky at all. You’re going to be first in the nation, because we’re going to win.”

A spokesperson for the Republican Party of Iowa said Trump’s statement was an “obvious” joke, and referenced his October speech in Sioux City where he said, “as long as I’m around in any capacity, you’re going to be number one. … I’m going to have a lot of power when I leave, and I’m going to keep you number one. It doesn’t matter.”

The Republican National Committee already approved Iowa kicking off the party’s national presidential nominating cycle for 2028, followed by the New Hampshire primary.

Trump has regularly spoken about how he has advocated for Iowa to lead the presidential nominating calendar, and Iowa has been recognized by Trump during some national Republican processes. Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann delivered Trump’s nominating speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention, which he said was a nod from the president on the state’s prominent role in his nomination. 

Trump continues criticism of out-of-state Democrats

When Trump held a rally in Sioux City, he urged GOP voters to go to the polls while criticizing Democrats in other states, including U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. In Dubuque, he brought up Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and his primary opponent, Haley Stevens’ endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers earlier Sunday. Several Democratic officials and leaders have denounced Stevens’ endorsement and called for continued support of Al-Sayed in the election.

“I don’t know Haley,” Trump said. “I’ve never met Haley, but Haley said what few people are willing to say. … I’d love her to join the Republican Party. Actually, I think it could happen. But she showed great and almost unprecedented loyalty to the great people of Michigan, and that’s another important election for us. We don’t want to have a jihadist.”

He repeated several anti-Muslim remarks about El-Sayed, calling the candidate “Mohammad,” and saying, “going to have to get a special metal detector for Abdul” in the U.S. Capitol if he is elected. El-Sayed has denied ties to terrorist or extremist groups.

Full Iowa GOP delegation joins Trump for second rally

While Hinson, gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn, and congressional candidates Joe Mitchell and Chris McGowan rallied with Trump in both Sioux City and Dubuque, incumbent GOP U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn  joined only for the second rally. Both Miller-Meeks’ race in Iowa’s 1st District and Nunn’s race in the 3rd District are rated “leans Democrat” by Cook Political Report.

While the candidates in the competitive districts both told the crowd their opponents were “radical” Democrats, they presented themselves as independent and bipartisan voices rather than staunch conservatives.

Nunn said Iowa’s 3rd District race “will decide whether we have a majority in Congress who stands with the president, who works with the president, and candidly, who will hold the president accountable in a pragmatic way.”

Nunn and Miller-Meeks both broke ranks with Republicans and voted in favor of a war powers resolution in September that would require congressional approval for Trump to continue his war in Iran — though both had voted against similar measures in the past.

Neither of the representatives mentioned this vote at the rally, but Nunn brought up other instances where he pushed back on Trump to advocate for Iowans — and was able to find a compromise. He cited his support for year-round E-15 and calling for the suspension of Trump’s initiative to allow more foreign beef into the country.

Trump described Miller-Meeks as someone who “works so hard, and she’s really become a friend,” and Nunn as “a great guy, a great warrior.”

The Dubuque visit was one of two planned trips to Iowa before the election, but it came after some rescheduling. The president and Republican National Committee announced Thursday the rallies in Iowa and Kansas were canceled, stating Trump instead would hold telerallies. The next day, Friday, Trump announced the two rallies were back on.

Protesters lined the streets outside the Five Flags Convention center, holding signs calling for Trump’s impeachment, an end to the U.S.-Iran war, and highlighting the president’s relationship with Florida financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. As Hinson spoke, she asked the crowd to stand and chant “USA” for the protesters outside to hear.

She called the Dubuque rally a “real full circle moment” for her in the U.S. Senate campaign, reflecting on her first run for Congress in 2020 when she challenged former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer to represent northeast Iowa.

“It was six years ago today, November 1 of 2020, that we were right here in Dubuque County rallying for President Trump and to make sure we could flip this congressional seat from blue to red,” Hinson said. “And you know what we did? We got that done in 2020, didn’t we? So we cannot let the Democrats win here in Iowa.”

She claimed U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and affiliated Democratic groups were spending significant money to support her opponent, Turek, because “Chuck Schumer knows that his path to a Democrat majority in the United States Senate runs right through Iowa” — even though, Hinson said, “Chuck Schumer could care less about Iowa … All he wants is the power.”

Outside spending has spiked in Iowa as the election nears — according to an Open Secrets analysis, outside groups had spent $59.86 million supporting Turek and $51.67 million supporting Hinson as of the Federal Election Commission report period ending Oct. 13. The largest spenders in the race during the period were $35.53 million coming from the Senate GOP-aligned SLF PAC and $28.27 million coming from the WinSenate, a Democratic super PAC.

Democrats criticize Hinson’s record, lack of public town halls

Pam Jochum, a former state lawmaker from Dubuque who served as Senate minority leader, and other Democrats who live in the 2nd Congressional District, criticized the Republican candidate’s time in office, saying she does not “listen to us and our concerns” in the district, and had not held public town halls since announcing her Senate campaign. Jochum also said Hinson’s voting record on issues like the “One, Big Beautiful Bill” Act making cuts to Medicaid, as well as not voting to restrict Trump’s tariff policies or the war in Iran, shows she does not support Iowans’ best interests.

“She has been a rubber stamp for Trump, end of story,” Jochum said. “… She is responsible with her votes for all of the costs that we’re seeing rising, whether its housing or healthcare or diesel or gas, it doesn’t matter. She has to take responsibility and be held accountable for what she has done for the past six years.”

After speaking in Iowa, Trump headed to a rally in Salina, Kansas, another state hosting a crucial U.S. Senate race between incumbent GOP Sen. Roger Marshall and Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton.