Trump rallies in Iowa and Kansas as Republicans fight to keep Senate and
House control
[November 02, 2026]
By STEVEN SLOAN, HANNAH FINGERHUT and JOHN HANNA
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump closed out the final weekend
of a turbulent midterm campaign with rallies in two states he has
handily won in the past while Democrats began to fracture in Michigan,
risking their effort to retake the Senate.
The president was in Salina, Kansas, and Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday.
Republicans in both states are fending off robust challenges from
Democrats, threatening GOP majorities in the Senate while they're
already at risk in the House.
But in Iowa, Trump insisted Republicans were on the verge of sweeping
victories on Election Day on Tuesday.
“We're going to elect ‘America first’ Republicans up and down the line,”
he said near the start of a speech that lasted two hours, long even for
Trump, who is known for his lengthy, free-wheeling rallies.
Later, he arrived tardy in Kansas, where Air Force One performed a
theatrical flyover before landing for an outdoor, airport rally.
Hundreds of people started leaving midway through his nearly 90-minute
speech in rural central Kansas, which didn’t end until nearly 10 p.m.
local time.
“This is our last stop. We’re closing it down tonight," Trump said. He
has crisscrossed the country since Oct. 1, holding more than two-dozen
rallies in 19 states to lift up the GOP. He is scheduled to give his
closing pitch of the midterm elections Monday in Washington at the
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
With more than 54 million votes already cast, the trips reflect the
GOP's defensive posture as the elections become a referendum on Trump's
White House second term.
They are a reminder of how starkly the political environment has changed
since Trump’s last campaign. In 2024, he worked to flip states that had
previously backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. This year, Trump has
focused largely on states he has dominated before as voters, including
previous supporters, question the economic fallout of his decision to
impose tariffs and launch the war in Iran.
Democrats struggle with infighting in Michigan
But Democrats who have become increasingly bullish on their prospects
were confronting challenges of their own.
In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's onetime opponent in the Senate
primary, Haley Stevens, appeared with Republican Mike Rogers at a church
service and later endorsed his campaign. Stevens, a congresswoman who
has criticized El-Sayed as being insufficiently supportive of Israel,
said she backed Rogers after an invitation to a Democratic event was
rescinded.
“Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his
campaign and that I should stay away,” Stevens said in a video
announcing the endorsement. “And he’s right. And that’s why I am
endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”
The stunning move forced other Democrats to reiterate their support for
El-Sayed. Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Democrat in the U.S.
Senate, said the party was “united in our support.” U.S. Sen. Kirsten
Gillibrand of New York, who leads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee, said the party would “stand firmly” behind El-Sayed and
“reject any efforts to divide Democrats.”
Earlier, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a top supporter of El-Sayed,
dismissed concerns about a Democratic divide.
“Haley Stevens lost a very, very close primary. I can understand being
upset about that,” the Vermont independent said on CBS' “Face the
Nation.” “But from what I can see, all over the state, people are
standing up, they’re gonna stand with Abdul.”
Michigan plays a key role in the Democratic effort to retake control of
the U.S. Senate. If they don't keep that seat on Tuesday, they would
face additional pressure to win races in deeper Republican territory
such as Texas, Kansas, Ohio or Iowa.
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President Donald Trump points as he speaks during a campaign rally
at the Five Flags Event Center, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Dubuque,
Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Midterms test Trump's strength in GOP
The campaign's closing stretch has largely become a test of Trump’s
enduring strength in a Republican Party he reshaped in his image a
decade ago. He's hoping to energize voters like Jon Lutz, a Dubuque
resident who watches videos of Trump all the time but attended his
first rally on Sunday.
Lutz said he's happy with Trump's second-term record and wants
Republicans to keep control of the House and Senate so his agenda
will advance.
“He’s done what he’s said he’s going to do,” the 60-year-old civil
engineer said. “I want him to keep going.”
Wendy Kuenzler was also seeing Trump for the first time on Sunday.
Waiting in line at the concession stand, the 44-year-old from
Burlington said she felt that Iowa was at a crossroads with multiple
competitive elections. She plans to support Ashley Hinson, the U.S.
Senate nominee.
Kuenzler said she doesn't blame rising gas and grocery prices on
Trump. "He's on the path to correcting it,” she said.
In Kansas, Liz Wagner, a 59-year-old restaurant owner, traveled 165
miles (266 kilometers) from her hometown of Atchison, to attend
Trump’s outdoor rally at the airport in Salina, Kansas. She said she
agrees “with everything he says.”
“I want people to get up and go to work and stop sticking their
hands out,” she said while waiting to get into the rally. “The
Democrats like to hand things out.”
Trump is betting that he can overcome the headwinds facing
Republicans this year by relentlessly appearing before his most
loyal supporters. But the more than two dozen rallies he held in
October were occasionally overshadowed by Trump's meandering asides
and sometimes graphic descriptions of the physique of the male
politicians he was supporting.
Trump paused the rallies on Saturday and spent the evening at his
Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida at a jungle-themed Halloween party,
where he bragged about the wealth of his guests and dismissed
concerns about the country's direction.
“The country has never done better,” he said.
Outgoing Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., raised concerns on Sunday that the
president's policies, particularly tariffs, could weigh down the
GOP.
“Tariffs are not popular here in the Midwest,” he told CNN's “State
of the Union.” “I tried telling the president that.”
Bacon predicted “there will be a debate in the party” about its
future if there are significant losses this week.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina was more optimistic. The chair of
the National Republican Senatorial Committee said he was confident
Republicans would keep the Senate and embraced Trump's role in the
campaign.
“There's no doubt that President Trump has said himself that the
midterm election is about him," he told NBC's “Meet the Press.” “His
agenda, without any question, is on the ballot.”
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Sloan reported from Washington and Hanna from Salina, Kansas.
Associated Press writers Corey Williams in Detroit and Will Weissert,
Joey Cappelletti and Jonathan J. Cooper in Washington contributed to
this report.
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