Trump Reinstates Campaign Stops in Iowa and Kansas After Early Vote Surge
The president reversed a last-minute plan for phone-only rallies, citing a 30% jump in early voting in two states with close Senate races.
By Robert Marshall ·
President Donald Trump has reinstated two campaign stops in Iowa and Kansas for this coming Sunday, reversing a decision made just days earlier. The change comes as early voting numbers surge nationwide, with nearly 10 million more Americans casting ballots five days before Election Day compared to the same period in 2022, according to Associated Press data.
The president's schedule shifted rapidly over the past week. Initially, the Republican National Committee announced that Trump would skip in-person events in favor of a 72-hour series of phone rallies to reach a wider audience. That plan followed his cancellation of a trip to Salina, Kansas, on Thursday. On Friday, the itinerary remained fluid, with an Iowa stop moving from Dubuque to Cedar Rapids before reverting to Dubuque hours later.
The final confirmed schedule places Trump in Dubuque, Iowa, and Salina, Kansas, for consecutive rallies on Sunday. These events support key Senate races that will determine whether the Republican Party retains its narrow majority in the chamber. In Kansas, the incumbent senator is Roger Marshall, who seeks reelection against Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton. In Iowa, the race is between Republican challenger Ashley Hinson, a current House member, and the Democratic nominee.
Early voting increases have been particularly sharp in these competitive states. Data shows a roughly 30% rise in early ballots in Iowa and Kansas compared to the same point in the 2022 midterms. The trend is consistent in other battlegrounds; early voting in Maine, Michigan, and North Carolina has also climbed more than 30%. In South Carolina, where voters will select a successor to the late Senator Lindsey Graham, early votes are up 83%.
Trump addressed the scheduling changes on Thursday, pushing back against suggestions that health or fatigue played a role. He told a reporter, “I’m not going to Kansas because he’s doing really well,” referring to Marshall. The president added that he feels “perfect” and that he did not feel the need to travel. By Friday, however, the RNC confirmed the return to in-person appearances, aligning with Trump’s earlier promise to lead a series of rallies in October. He has already headlined 25 such events this month.
The campaign environment is shaped by high costs of living and concerns over affordability, issues that Democratic candidates emphasize. Republicans express concern that general dissatisfaction with the president might suppress turnout among their base. Trump praised Marshall during a Friday radio interview on a Kansas City station, calling him “fantastic” and citing his push for tax-exempt red diesel fuel for Kansas farmers. He criticized Hamilton, a Methodist pastor, as a “radical” whose liberal views have caused trouble in the church.
Money has flowed into this election cycle at high levels, with both parties betting that the turnout surge favors their side. In Michigan, the Democratic Senate race remains contentious. Representative Haley Stevens, who lost the primary to Abdul El-Sayed in August, has continued to criticize her former opponent. On Friday, she posted a statement demanding El-Sayed condemn an ad linking U.S. support for Israel to rising food prices. Stevens wrote, “Abdul promises to take money out of politics. He can start by taking Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan can’t afford.”
Voting continues through Election Day, with states reporting daily increases in early ballots. The final outcome in the Senate races will depend on turnout in these key states, where early voting trends are running ahead of the previous midterms. The Republican and Democratic parties have both signaled confidence that the higher participation rates will benefit their candidates in the final days of the campaign.
