Trump Rallies in Kansas as Republicans Face Senate Risks

With control of Congress at stake in the November 3, 2026, midterm elections, President Donald Trump is campaigning across Republican-leaning states to help his party retain its majorities. His visit to Kansas on Monday came as polling showed Democrat Adam Hamilton leading incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall by three percentage points, according to a recent YouGov survey.

Trump's campaign schedule includes North Carolina on Tuesday, South Carolina on Wednesday, Iowa on Thursday, Florida on Friday, and Georgia and Michigan over the weekend, according to La Presse and Le Devoir. He won each of the states on the itinerary in the 2024 presidential election.

Kansas presents a particular challenge for Republicans. Trump carried the state by 16 percentage points in 2024, and Kansas has not elected a Democratic senator since the 1930s, according to the two Canadian news outlets.

At a rally in Wichita, the state's largest city, Trump urged supporters to participate in the election.

"Whatever you do, go vote. All you have to do is show up. If you show up, we win," Trump told the crowd, according to La Presse and Le Devoir.

Attendance exceeded the venue's capacity, leaving several hundred supporters unable to enter, the outlets reported. Among those turned away were theater director Kim Klein and her sister.

Klein emphasized the importance of voter participation among conservatives.

"People need to go vote. Conservatives need to get off their couches!" Klein said, according to the reports.

Asked about rising prices, Klein defended the president's record and argued that economic improvements would take time.

"He needs time. It's only been two years. These things take time," Klein said.

Republican campaign spending has also shifted toward Kansas as the party responds to the increasingly competitive race. According to advertising research firm AdImpact, the Republican organization Senate Leadership Fund decided to finance a new advertising campaign in Kansas, forcing the cancellation of a planned campaign in North Carolina.

Republicans have substantially reduced their efforts to retain the North Carolina Senate seat after polls consistently favored Democrat Roy Cooper, allowing resources to be redirected to other contests, according to La Presse and Le Devoir.

The University of Virginia's Center for Politics described the effort to protect Marshall's seat as an urgent intervention but cautioned against assuming Democrats would win Kansas.

"A genuine rescue operation appears to have been launched by Republicans for Marshall," the center's analysts wrote in a recent assessment. They also said they remained "skeptical" about the prospect of a Democratic victory in the state.

Democrats need a net gain of four Republican-held seats to secure a Senate majority, according to the reports. Beyond North Carolina, their targets include Maine, Alaska, Ohio and Texas, expanding the competitive map into states Republicans have traditionally dominated.

President Trump's declining approval ratings are another factor shaping the races. A poll conducted by Ipsos for The Washington Post and ABC News and published Sunday put his approval rating at 33%, its lowest level since he returned to the White House, according to La Presse.

The survey identified the cost of living as a leading source of voter dissatisfaction. Trump campaigned in 2024 on reducing inflation, but the reports said his tariff policies and the war against Iran alongside Israel had contributed to worsening economic concerns.