Graham’s South Carolina seat draws second Trump visit in a month
Donald Trump has canceled in-person rallies scheduled for the weekend in Iowa and Kansas, with the Republican National Committee (RNC) saying he will instead spend a “72-hour sprint” running tele-rallies by phone. The RNC announced the change on Friday, saying telerallies are planned for nearly 20 states and more may be announced.
The RNC said the move would maximize Trump’s ability to speak to voters nationwide. The cancellation marks an abrupt shift in Trump’s pledge to push through the final days of the campaign doing rally after rally to galvanize his supporters. As of Thursday, he had held 25 rallies during October, falling short of a goal he had once placed north of 30.
The schedule change came a day after Trump traveled to South Carolina for the second time in a month, a visit The Guardian reported signaled Republican anxiety about Senate candidate Darline Graham’s ability to fend off a robust challenge from Democratic candidate Annie Andrews for a critical US Senate seat. Voters in South Carolina have not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly three decades. Andrews, a pediatrician who previously ran unsuccessfully for Congress, is urging voters seeking change to “try something new for once.”
Republicans are entering the final days of the midterm elections navigating tight contests in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa and Alaska, and both parties are closely following developments in the Mississippi Senate race, AP reported.
Trump responded to a Reuters reporter who asked why he canceled the planned Saturday rally in Kansas for Republican Senator Roger Marshall, saying, “You’re sick to ask that question.”
In other campaign developments, Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for Ohio governor, confirmed on Thursday that his campaign is no longer airing an attack ad that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr Amy Acton.
Trump again called for Democrat Mary Peltola to be criminally prosecuted and disqualified from the Alaska Senate race over her campaign’s alleged recruitment of a man named Dan Sullivan to run against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed will campaign on Sunday in Detroit with Haley Stevens, the congresswoman he narrowly defeated to win the Democratic party’s nomination in August.
Tom Hoyle, who achieved instant viral fame on Thursday by comparing Trump supporters to a cult in a live interview with Fox News before the president’s rally in South Carolina, was removed from the venue by three Secret Service agents.