U.S. president Donald Trump will resume his election campaign on Sunday, holding rallies in Iowa and Kansas, two states traditionally considered Republican strongholds. Republicans are seeking to retain their majorities in Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Although Trump won Iowa by a wide margin in the 2024 presidential election, recent polls indicate that races in the state have become increasingly competitive, with Democratic candidates running neck and neck with Republicans in several districts. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, Trump’s approval rating among rural Americans fell to 45 percent in October, its lowest recorded level.
In Kansas, the race for a Senate seat has also become unexpectedly competitive. The state has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.
In Tuesday’s elections, 35 Senate seats and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be contested. Republicans currently hold a 53–47 majority in the Senate and a narrow majority in the House. Losing control of either chamber could significantly limit the Trump administration’s ability to advance its legislative agenda.
According to data from the University of Florida’s Election Research Center, more than 52 million Americans have already voted, either in person or by mail. This figure exceeds the number of early votes cast ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
As Trump continues his campaign, his administration is also facing several election-related legal challenges. The U.S. Department of Justice has said it may appeal to the Supreme Court a ruling by a California judge concerning the counting of more than 20,000 mail-in ballots.
Trent McCutter, a deputy acting official at the Department of Justice, told Fox News that an appeal to the Supreme Court remains a possibility and could be filed before Tuesday’s election.
The Justice Department had argued that some registered voters might not be U.S. citizens. However, California officials maintain that they have implemented the necessary safeguards to prevent non-citizens from voting.
In Alaska, federal prosecutors are also investigating the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher. The investigation centres on whether associates of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola played a role in his candidacy in an attempt to confuse voters because of the similarity between his name and that of incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.
Peltola and members of her campaign team have denied any involvement in the matter. Sullivan Jr. has also said that he has had no coordination with Peltola’s campaign.
The Justice Department has additionally asked a federal court to prevent the official certification of Alaska’s election results if the incumbent senator loses by a narrow margin.
In Michigan, Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed is competing against Republican candidate Mike Rogers for a seat in the U.S. Senate. However, divisions within the Democratic Party persist, and it remains unclear whether Democratic Representative Haley Stevens will appear alongside El-Sayed at a rally scheduled for Sunday in Detroit.
Stevens lost to El-Sayed in the Democratic primary. El-Sayed’s campaign has urged her to stay away from campaign events until Election Day, arguing that internal divisions could distract voters from the main contest.
Stevens, meanwhile, has called on El-Sayed to condemn a political advertisement produced by an outside group that, according to her, blames Israel for rising food prices.
Matt Grossmann, a political researcher at Michigan State University, said that public displays of party divisions in the final days before the election could damage El-Sayed’s campaign. Nevertheless, polls suggest that he has secured substantial support among Democratic voters.
Writer:Roya Stanikzai
