Live updates: Vance stumps in Iowa as races tighten; Iran war’s cost exceeds $43B

The Midwest is home to several contentious congressional and gubernatorial races in November, historically red areas that are seeing Democratic candidates make inroads.

Vice President Vance is set to visit one of them for a rally on Friday: Council Bluffs, Iowa. He is expected to be joined by Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn, who is running against Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand.

The rally’s location is the turf of Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek, who is campaigning against Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) for the open seat. Hinson reportedly won’t attend the Vance event.

In Kansas, Adam Hamilton (D) narrowly leads Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in a tight race for Senate, according a The Hill/Emerson College poll out Friday. It found Hamilton ahead by 2 percentage points, with 45 percent support to Marshall’s 43 percent.

The Pentagon told congressional leaders this week that the cost of the Iran war through Sept. 3 had exceeded $43 billion, not including damage estimates to sites hit.

At the White House, President Trump will make an announcement about Medicaid drug prices on Friday afternoon. He’ll hold other meetings and will head Friday evening to his golf course in Sterling, Va., for a MAGA Inc. meeting. He’ll spend part of the weekend at Camp David.