ROCK HILL, South Carolina (AP) — President Donald Trump On Thursday, he canceled weekend rallies in Iowa and Kansas, choosing instead to support Republican candidates with telerallies that his party said could reach more voters in nearly two dozen states in the final days of a midterm election that could cost the Republican Party control of Congress.
The president visited South Carolina on Thursday for the second time in a month, a sign of Republican concern about Darline Graham’s ability to withstand a strong challenge from Democrats. Annie Andrews for a critical seat in the U.S. Senate.
South Carolina voters haven’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly three decades. But Andrews, a pediatrician who had previously run unsuccessfully for Congressurges voters seeking change to “try something new for once.”
That message could resonate in an election year characterized by voter frustration with the economy, gas prices and the war in Iran, putting Trump’s Republican Party on the defensive in territory where it has rarely had to compete in recent years.
Beyond South Carolina, Republicans enter the final days of this year’s midterm elections facing close contests in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa and Alaska. Both parties are also closely following developments in the Mississippi Senate race.
Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., greets during a campaign rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)
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The president showed confidence upon his return to the White House, declaring: “We’re going to have a strong Tuesday night. »
Trump was scheduled to hold a rally in Kansas on Saturday and in Iowa on Sunday. But the Republican National Committee announced Thursday evening that it would instead dedicate a “72-hour sprint” to rallies by phone rather than in person, a move the RNC said would maximize Trump’s ability to speak to voters across the country. The RNC said telerallies are planned in nearly 20 states and more could be announced.
It’s a stark shift in Trump’s promise to lead the final days of the campaign by holding rally after rally to galvanize his supporters. As of Thursday, he had completed 25 rallies during the month of October, far short of the goal he once set for himself north of 30.
Trump says he doesn’t need to go to Kansas
There were signs that the travel and long speeches had caught up with him. In Corinth, Mississippi, on Monday, Trump – whose voice grew hoarse – told the crowd: “God didn’t make your vocal chords to do a rally every day. »
But he bristled Thursday when a reporter asked him if he had canceled his plans to travel to Kansas because of his health.
“You’ve been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect,” Trump said.
The president said he would not travel to Kansas, where the GOP Senator Roger Marshall ” faces Democrat Adam Hamilton, “because he’s doing great,” an apparent reference to Marshall.
“I don’t feel obligated to go to Kansas,” Trump said.
A campaign strategist for the Senate Republican leadership said there was widespread curiosity about why the calendar was changing to telerallies. The strategist spoke on condition of anonymity to share the content of private conversations.
Trump, who enjoys large crowds, has held rallies this month in smaller venues than those he once occupied. The decision to move to telerallies means he will have to speak for about 10 minutes instead of more than 90, as he does at in-person events.
Trump plans to travel to Daytona Beach, Florida, for a rally on Friday. It’s unclear whether it will hold any more in-person events afterward. The White House has not released its schedule for Monday, the last day of the campaign.
Democrats took note.
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan who is in a tight race against Republican Mike Rogers, said Thursday night that the president’s goal of trying to mobilize GOP voters had backfired and he had “given up.” “He’s an old man, he’s a loser,” El-Sayed continued. “He now understands that he completely lost the midterm elections for his party.”
Graham struggled to connect with voters
In South Carolina, Graham struggled to quickly connect with voters. The sister of late Senator Lindsey Grahamshe was appointed in July by Republican Governor Henry McMaster to fill the remaining months of his brother’s term after his sudden death. In August, she became the party’s nominee to succeed him for a full six-year term.
“He was a great politician,” Trump said of Lindsey Graham, before promoting Darline Graham as his elected successor. “She has the gene.”
Darline Graham praised the president for “delivering on what Washington has been promising for decades.” She warned that Andrews was “going to throw it away.”
Andrews appeared Wednesday in nearby Fort Mill, where she said that if voters elect her and become unhappy with her performance at the Capitol, “you can fire me in six years.”
South Carolina Representative Ralph Norman who lost to Graham in the GOP Senate primary runoffcriticized Graham as unqualified. Norman, who declined to campaign with Graham, said the race is closer than it would have been if he had been nominated.
Lonnie Dean Johnson of Sumter, South Carolina, supported Norman in the primary and voted for Graham out of party loyalty, although half-heartedly.
“She’s on the Republican ticket. Overall, I support the Republican platform,” he said. “So, I support her and wish her well.”
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Annie Andrews participates in a Get Out the Vote rally with other Democratic candidates during the midterm elections, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Columbia, South Carolina (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
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Democrats optimistic about US Senate elections
Democrats, meanwhile, are optimistic about their chances of unseating incumbent GOP senators, including in Ohio, while the American public is frustrated by continued high costs.
“Families are seeing more money going out and not enough money coming in,” said Sherrod Brown, the Democratic Senate candidate who is competing against Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted. At a rally in Toledo on Thursday, Brown said Husted was “watching data centers and Wall Street.”
Further north, the Republican governor of Alaska ordered an investigation after The New York Times reported Wednesday that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting another candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.
The Justice Department intensified the investigation Thursday, releasing a series of new grand jury subpoenasa person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
The Ministry of Justice also issued subpoenas to California officials in the latest effort to examine local election administration. A California federal judge on Thursday appointed a special master to assess Trump administration claims that the State has 20,000 non-citizens registered on the electoral lists.
Trump called development in Alaska a “conspiracy” and called for Peltola to be removed from the ballot. He questioned Peltola’s ability to serve in the Senate even if she won the election.
Peltola’s campaign did not immediately respond to a message Thursday seeking comment on the governor’s order. But during a campaign stop in Soldotna, Peltola, a former congresswoman, suggested that the Times report was a “distraction” on issues such as Sen. Sullivan’s support for the war in Iran.
The revelation in Alaska is a reminder of the volatility of the final days of the midterm campaigns, as both parties make decisions about how to spend time and money with control of Congress at stake.
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Sloan reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, Jesse Bedayn in Austin, Texas, Hannah Fingerhut in Clive, Iowa, John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, Mike Householder in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Meg Kinnard, Collin Binkley and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.
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