Trump heads to rally in Alaska as Republicans scramble to avert midterm losses

On the campaign trail

• 21 days to go: Republicans are scrambling to avert losses in once-safe seats that they increasingly fear could cost them total control of Congress. This includes Senate races in Alaska, where President Donald Trump will hold a rally today, and Texas, where Vice President JD Vance will take part in a campaign event.

• Voting underway: In Georgia, early voting begins today and runs through October 30. The Peach State’s Senate race is another pivotal contest, with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff defending a seat Republicans view as a pickup opportunity. You can track all the early voting here.

• Coming up: CNN and Jubilee Town Hall will host a town hall with Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET with an All Access subscription . Submit your questions here . Tonight is also a big Senate debate night with with faceoffs in Maine (7 p.m. ET), Georgia (8 p.m. ET), and Iowa (10 p.m. ET).

In deep-red Kansas, Democratic Senate nominee sees Trump as a liability for incumbent

Adam Hamilton, a pastor who has turned the Kansas Senate race into a barnburner, sees an opening in the marquee battle: President Donald Trump.

Even though Trump easily won the state three times, Hamilton criticizes the president during his stump speeches, seizing on the Iran war, tariffs and what the Democratic Senate nominee says is a lack of “decency” — something he ties to the incumbent GOP senator, Roger Marshall.

After rallying supporters in the progressive college town of Lawrence, Hamilton told CNN there was a reason for his messaging.

“I’m talking to people who tell me I voted for President Trump three times, but what’s happening today is not OK,” he said.

Hamilton added: “The president’s ratings are pretty low here in Kansas right now.”

While many Democrats in red states may hide from the “D” next to their name, Hamilton embraces that line, though he refers to himself as a “moderate” or “independent” Democrat.

Asked what he would say to voters concerned that his victory could give Democrats a Senate majority, Hamilton said: “Here’s the question I ask: Are you better off as Kansas if we have two Republican senators representing Kansas on the Republican side of the aisle, or if we have Jerry Moran, who seems to be doing a pretty good job on the Republican side, and I’m working as a moderate Democrat on the Democratic side?”

Republicans scramble to stave off major midterm losses

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

The Republican Party’s midterm campaign has turned into a triage operation just three weeks out from November, as officials race to avert losses in a string of once-safe seats that they increasingly fear could cost them total control of Congress.

The worsening landscape has alarmed GOP operatives across several battleground states, forcing the party to pour resources into traditionally red districts and states at the expense of their once-expansive ambitions in Democratic areas.

After months of pressing President Donald Trump to ramp up his travel on behalf of key candidates, some Republicans now worry he’s become so unpopular that his presence on the campaign trail may in some cases do more harm than good.

The grim outlook gripping the GOP follows weeks of polling showing Republicans on track to lose the House amid intense voter anger over the Iran war and rising cost of living — and at grave risk of losing their once-solid majority in the Senate as well.

The widening number of competitive races has complicated Republican leaders’ plans to make up ground by unleashing hundreds of millions of dollars down the stretch.

Despite a massive cash advantage fueled in part by pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA Inc., the spending so far has failed to significantly shift Republicans’ fortunes as more money gets diverted toward races once counted on as comfortable wins.

Already, the Senate Leadership Fund, the top GOP super PAC in Senate races, has suspended its ad reservations in North Carolina and plowed at least $10 million into Kansas, which has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932. It also recently invested $5 million in South Carolina to boost incumbent Sen. Darline Graham amid concerns among some Republicans that she’s losing ground to Democrat Annie Andrews in the deep red state.

Polls show Americans believe Trump's agenda has worsened the cost-of-living squeeze

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Voters returned President Donald Trump to office above all because they believed he could relieve the squeeze in their living standards. But nearly two years later, polls show that most Americans have reached the unequivocal conclusion that his agenda has instead magnified the problem they elected him to solve.

In the latest Wall Street Journal poll , conducted last month by a bipartisan team of pollsters, 60% of registered voters said Trump’s policies have made the economy worse — more than double the 25% that said his actions have improved conditions. In the most recent AP/NORC poll , when asked why prices are “higher than usual,” 67% of voters blamed “Trump’s policies,” far more than the 32% that pointed to “factors outside Trump’s control.”

CNN/SSRS surveys released last week similarly found that likely voters in Ohio agreed, by an overwhelming 76% to 7% margin, that Trump’s policies have increased their costs rather than decreased them. In Iowa, likely voters agreed by 74% to 6%.

These conclusions draw extensive agreement even among groups that have provided the pillars of Trump’s electoral coalition. In the AP/NORC survey, most working-class white voters said prices are high because of Trump’s policies, not factors he couldn’t control. About half of self-identified Republican likely voters in Ohio and Iowa agreed Trump’s policies are increasing the cost of living, the CNN surveys found.

Celinda Lake, a longtime Democratic pollster, said the breadth of this negative verdict is unprecedented across her career in politics. “It is the broadest sense we’ve had that a president has failed,” she said. “It is broader than it was in 2018 for him, or even for George W. Bush in 2006.”

Empty seats at Trump’s rally in Ohio

President Donald Trump has claimed, as recently as yesterday, that his rallies are jam-packed and that attendees are turned away to watch on a Jumbotron

But in Youngstown, Ohio, last night the Covelli Centre arena was far from full.

President Donald Trump on Monday kicked off a week of red-state campaigning with a raucous rally in Ohio, where large sections of seating in the arena were also empty. Republicans are fighting to hold onto a Senate seat that could be key to their majority. CNN's Betsy Klein reports.

CNN observed a large area of empty seats to the left and right of the press riser. The White House, responding on X to a New York Times reporter who also noted the empty seats, pushed back saying, “These seats are obviously obstructed by the press risers.” They also pointed to a large American flag hanging over one section of seats. “Why would we seat people there?”

CNN observed that the seats near the press risers did not have obstructed views. In those sections, there were hundreds of seats that offered prime views of the president’s speech but remained empty.

The president has long been sensitive about his crowd size, taking aim at the press when attendance is noted.

Trump kicks off a week of red-state campaigning in Ohio

Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump kicked off a week of red-state campaigning on Monday with a raucous rally in Ohio , where Republicans are fighting to hold onto a Senate seat that could be key to the majority .

He spent portions of his nearly 90-minute-long remarks railing against Somali and Haitian communities, delivering political attacks and catering to his base.

A big part of Trump’s pitch was about immigration, returning to a theme he hit hard in 2024, when he repeated his false claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating their neighbors’ pets.

Trump conjured two out-of-state Democrats — Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed — as bigger threats than former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown , who’s giving GOP Sen. Jon Husted a run for his money in a state Trump had turned into a reliably red bastion.

As he launched into into a tirade against Somalis in the US, supporters in the audience began chanting “Deport!”

“They think they’re in Somalia, where they don’t have pants to wear,” Trump said at one point, going on to repeat his insult about “low IQ people.”

He made blue-state Minnesota the foil.

After Ohio, Trump is scheduled to hit Alaska and Montana — states he won by 13 and 20 points in 2024 — as his team banks on him juicing base turnout in conservative areas.

在竞选活动中

• 距离大选还有21天：共和党人正竭力避免失去一些原本稳固的席位，他们越来越担心这些失利会让他们失去对国会的完全控制权。这其中包括阿拉斯加州和德克萨斯州的参议院选举。特朗普总统今天将在那里举行竞选集会；副总统万斯将在那里参加竞选活动。

• 投票进行中：佐治亚州的提前投票今天开始，将持续到10月30日。该州的参议员选举是另一场关键之战，民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫将捍卫他的席位，而共和党人则认为这是一个可以拿下该席位的机会。您可以在这里追踪所有提前投票情况。

• 即将播出：CNN 和 Jubilee Town Hall 将于美国东部时间周三晚 8 点举办一场与德克萨斯州民主党参议员候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科 (James Talarico) 的市政厅会议，需订阅 All Access 方可参加。请在此处提交您的问题。今晚也是参议院辩论之夜，缅因州（美国东部时间晚 7 点）、佐治亚州（美国东部时间晚 8 点）和爱荷华州（美国东部时间晚 10 点）将分别举行辩论。

在深红州堪萨斯州，民主党参议员候选人认为特朗普对现任参议员来说是个累赘。

亚当·汉密尔顿是一位牧师，他将堪萨斯州参议员竞选变成了一场激烈的角逐。他看到了这场焦点之战中的一个机会：唐纳德·特朗普总统。

尽管特朗普三次轻松赢得该州，但汉密尔顿在竞选演讲中批评总统，抓住伊朗战争、关税以及这位民主党参议员候选人所说的缺乏“体面”大做文章——他将这种“体面”与现任共和党参议员罗杰·马歇尔联系起来。

在进步的大学城劳伦斯集结支持者后，汉密尔顿告诉 CNN，他发表这些言论是有原因的。

“我跟一些人交谈过，他们告诉我，他们曾三次投票给特朗普总统，但今天发生的事情是不对的，”他说。

汉密尔顿补充道：“总统目前在堪萨斯州的支持率相当低。”

虽然许多红色州的民主党人可能会对名字旁边的“D”感到羞愧，但汉密尔顿欣然接受了这个标记，尽管他称自己为“温和派”或“独立”民主党人。

当被问及他会如何回应那些担心他的胜利可能会让民主党获得参议院多数席位的选民时，汉密尔顿说：“我想问的问题是：如果堪萨斯州有两位共和党参议员代表共和党，你们觉得哪种情况更好？还是杰里·莫兰（他在共和党方面似乎做得相当不错）代表堪萨斯州，而我作为一名温和派民主党人代表民主党，你们觉得哪种情况更好？”

共和党人竭力避免中期选举重大失利

朱莉娅·德马雷·尼金森/美联社

距离 11 月的中期选举仅剩三周，共和党的竞选活动已经变成了一场紧急救治行动，官员们争分夺秒，力图避免在一系列曾经稳固的席位上失利，他们越来越担心这些失利可能会让他们失去对国会的完全控制权。

不断恶化的形势令几个摇摆州的共和党人士感到担忧，迫使该党将资源投入到传统的红色选区和州，而牺牲了其曾经在民主党地区拥有的广泛野心。

经过数月敦促唐纳德·特朗普总统加大力度为重要候选人助选后，一些共和党人现在担心，他已经变得如此不受欢迎，以至于他出现在竞选活动中在某些情况下可能弊大于利。

共和党前景黯淡，此前数周的民调显示，由于伊朗战争和生活成本上涨引发选民强烈不满，共和党人即将失去众议院的控制权，而且他们一度稳固的参议院多数席位也面临失去的严重风险。

竞争激烈的选区数量不断增加，使得共和党领导人原本计划在最后阶段投入数亿美元来追赶的计划变得更加复杂。

尽管共和党人拥有巨大的资金优势，部分原因是得到了支持特朗普的超级政治行动委员会 MAGA Inc. 的支持，但到目前为止，这些支出并未显著改变共和党人的命运，因为更多的资金被转移到了曾经被认为稳操胜券的竞选中。

参议院领导基金（Senate Leadership Fund）是共和党在参议院竞选中最大的超级政治行动委员会，该基金已经暂停了在北卡罗来纳州的广告投放，并向堪萨斯州投入了至少1000万美元。堪萨斯州自1932年以来就没有选出过民主党参议员。该基金最近还在南卡罗来纳州投资了500万美元，以支持现任参议员达琳·格雷厄姆（Darline Graham）。一些共和党人担心，在这个深红州，格雷厄姆的支持率正在被民主党候选人安妮·安德鲁斯（Annie Andrews）超越。

民调显示，美国民众认为特朗普的政策加剧了生活成本上涨的压力。

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

选民之所以再次选举唐纳德·特朗普担任总统，最主要的原因是他们相信他能够缓解民众生活水平的下滑。但近两年过去了，民调显示，大多数美国人已经得出明确的结论：他的施政纲领反而加剧了他们当初选举他来解决的问题。

在《华尔街日报》上个月由两党民调团队进行的最新民调中，60%的登记选民表示特朗普的政策使经济状况恶化——这一比例是认为他的政策改善了经济状况的25%的两倍多。在美联社/NORC公共事务研究中心最近的民调中，当被问及物价为何“高于往常”时，67%的选民将原因归咎于“特朗普的政策”，远高于认为是“特朗普无法控制的因素”导致物价上涨的32%。

上周发布的CNN/SSRS民调也显示，俄亥俄州的潜在选民以压倒性的76%比7%的比例认为，特朗普的政策增加了他们的成本，而不是降低了成本。在爱荷华州，这一比例为74%比6%。

即使在特朗普选举联盟的支柱群体中，这些结论也得到了广泛的认同。美联社/NORC的调查显示，大多数工薪阶层白人选民认为物价高企是特朗普政策造成的，而非他无法控制的因素。CNN的调查也发现，在俄亥俄州和爱荷华州，约有一半自认为是共和党的潜在选民也认同特朗普的政策正在推高生活成本。

长期从事民主党民调的塞琳达·莱克表示，这种负面评价的范围之广，在她从政生涯中前所未有。“这是我们所感受到的对一位总统失败的最广泛的评价，”她说，“比2018年他（指特朗普）的遭遇，甚至比2006年小布什的遭遇都要严重。”

特朗普在俄亥俄州的竞选集会上出现空位

就在昨天，唐纳德·特朗普总统还声称，他的竞选集会人山人海，甚至有与会者被拒之门外，只能在大屏幕上观看。

但昨晚在俄亥俄州扬斯敦，科维利中心体育馆远未坐满。

周一，唐纳德·特朗普总统在俄亥俄州举行了一场喧闹的集会，拉开了为期一周的“红色州”竞选活动的序幕。集会现场的大部分座位都空着。共和党人正努力保住一个可能对其参议院多数席位至关重要的席位。CNN记者贝齐·克莱因报道。

CNN注意到媒体席左右两侧有大片空位。一位《纽约时报》记者也注意到了这些空位，白宫对此回应称：“这些座位显然被媒体席挡住了。”他们还指着悬挂在其中一部分座位上方的一面巨大的美国国旗。“我们为什么要安排人坐在那里？”

CNN观察到，靠近媒体席的座位视野开阔。在这些区域，有数百个座位视野极佳，可以清楚地看到总统的演讲，但却空无一人。

总统一直对集会人数非常敏感，一旦媒体报道到场人数，他就会进行抨击。

特朗普在俄亥俄州开启为期一周的共和党州竞选活动。

Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

周一，唐纳德·特朗普总统在俄亥俄州举行了一场声势浩大的集会，拉开了为期一周的“红色州”竞选活动的序幕。共和党人正在俄亥俄州努力保住一个参议院席位，该席位对于获得多数席位至关重要。

在他近 90 分钟的讲话中，他花了大量时间抨击索马里和海地社区，进行政治攻击，并迎合他的支持者。

特朗普竞选纲领的很大一部分内容是关于移民问题，这再次提及了他在 2024 年大力宣传的主题，当时他重申了自己关于俄亥俄州斯普林菲尔德的海地移民正在吃邻居宠物的虚假说法。

特朗普将两位外州民主党人——明尼苏达州众议员伊尔汗·奥马尔和密歇根州参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德——描绘成比前俄亥俄州参议员谢罗德·布朗更大的威胁。布朗在俄亥俄州——特朗普曾将其变成一个可靠的共和党堡垒——给共和党参议员乔恩·赫斯特带来了不小的挑战。

当他开始对美国境内的索马里人进行猛烈抨击时，观众席上的支持者开始高喊“驱逐！”

“他们以为自己身处索马里，连裤子都没有，”特朗普一度说道，并再次重复了他对“低智商人群”的侮辱。

他把蓝州明尼苏达州当作了反面角色。

在俄亥俄州之后，特朗普计划前往阿拉斯加州和蒙大拿州——这两个州他在 2024 年分别以 13 个百分点和 20 个百分点的优势获胜——他的团队指望他能刺激保守派地区的选民投票率。