Trump shifts to telerallies for Iowa and Kansas, skipping in-person stops

With congressional control at stake in the upcoming midterms, the Republican National Committee announced on Thursday that President Donald Trump will replace in-person rallies with telerallies in Iowa and Kansas. The party stated the shift would allow the president to address voters in nearly two dozen states during the final days of the campaign. Trump had originally planned to hold a rally in Kansas on Saturday and another in Iowa on Sunday. The RNC described the new format as a 72-hour sprint designed to maximize national reach. Under this arrangement, Trump is expected to speak for approximately 10 minutes, a stark contrast to the more than 90 minutes he typically delivers at physical events.

The change comes as Republican candidates face tight contests in Texas, Ohio, and Alaska, alongside the Senate races in Kansas and South Carolina. A person familiar with the campaign’s internal strategy said the team felt confident about prospects in Kansas, where Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton is competing closely with incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall. Despite the optimism, the president denied that health issues influenced the decision to skip the road trip. He stated that he was not traveling to Kansas because Marshall was doing very well. Trump also confirmed plans to travel to Florida on Friday.

The president’s recent focus has turned to South Carolina, where he visited Thursday for the second time in a month. The trip underscores Republican concerns about the ability of Darline Graham to defend a critical Senate seat against Democratic challenger Annie Andrews. Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, was appointed to the seat in July after her brother’s sudden death. She became the party’s nominee for a full six-year term in August. Trump praised the family legacy, noting that Graham has the gene for politics. He also joked that he put her in the race. Graham, who voted in Lexington, told supporters that Andrews would throw away the progress made in Washington.

Andrews, a pediatrician who previously ran for Congress, held an event in Fort Mill on Wednesday. She urged voters to try something new, arguing that if she is elected and performs poorly, they can remove her from office in six years. Her campaign hopes to win over disaffected Republicans, such as Brent Chaplin, a 37-year-old finance worker in South Carolina. Chaplin, a registered Republican who voted for Trump in 2016, said it is difficult to identify with the party right now. He encouraged voters to use their judgment rather than voting strictly on party lines. In the Republican primary, Representative Ralph Norman criticized Graham as unqualified and has refused to campaign alongside her. Norman stated the race is closer than it would have been had he been the nominee.

Beyond South Carolina, the Justice Department escalated its investigation into the Alaska Senate race on Thursday. Federal officials issued new grand jury subpoenas following reports that the Democratic campaign for Mary Peltola appeared to be recruiting another candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. The state’s Republican governor ordered an investigation after The New York Times reported on the matter. Trump called the development a conspiracy and urged for Peltola’s removal from the ballot. Peltola’s campaign suggested the news cycle was a distraction from issues like Senator Sullivan’s support for the war in Iran.

The Justice Department also issued subpoenas to California officials to scrutinize local election administration. A federal judge in California appointed a special master on Thursday to evaluate administration claims that the state has about 20,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls. In Iowa, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand addressed voters in a Des Moines suburb. He asked supporters to avoid post-election regret by voting now. Sand acknowledged that a win would likely result in a divided government, noting that both the far left and far right would be disappointed. Democrats in Iowa have not held the governor’s mansion since 2010.