Trump to campaign in Ohio, Alaska to help Republicans retain control of Congress in US midterms

With just over three weeks left before the US midterm elections, US President Donald Trump is stepping up campaign rallies across Republican-friendly states to boost candidates facing tight races.According to news agency Reuters, Trump's campaign swing this week includes Ohio, Alaska, Arizona and Montana, all states he won in the 2024 presidential election. Republicans are fighting to retain control of Congress as they face headwinds from high gasoline prices and the ongoing war in Iran.The November 3 elections will determine whether Republicans can hold on to their congressional majorities for the final two years of Trump's presidency.Trump is expected to have campaigned in 11 states over two weeks by the end of this week. His schedule includes two stops each in Texas and Ohio, along with a rally in Alaska on Tuesday. Republicans are hoping his visits will help candidates in competitive Senate races.In Ohio, Trump is campaigning for Republican Senator Jon Husted, who faces a close contest against Democrat Sherrod Brown. In Alaska, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is also fighting a tight race against Democrat Mary Peltola.Trump said on Saturday that he wanted to thank voters in states that had consistently supported him, while acknowledging that some of those states had closely contested races.Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said Trump's campaign stops appeared strategically planned to draw supportive crowds and help Republican candidates.“His staff is putting him in places where he's likely to be able to draw a friendly crowd to the rally,” Sabato said, according to Reuters.However, Trump's rallies have also energised his opponents. Marilyn Makiewicz, a 59-year-old Democratic voter who attended a protest outside a recent rally in Vandalia, Ohio, said she believed Trump was holding the events because he was concerned about the election.White House officials said the campaign stops were aimed at mobilising Trump's loyal supporters and encouraging them to vote. Trump has repeatedly urged his followers to act as though he himself were on the ballot.“Some of them may not show up for a candidate unless Trump gives them a reason,” a White House official said of the president's supporters, Reuters reported.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.