President Trump is preparing an aggressive campaign schedule this fall that includes rallies and endorsements for Republican candidates across the nation, and trips to at least seven different states over the next six weeks.
Trump plans to visit North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to a person familiar with the president’s thinking. The source said Trump will spend at least 40 days on the road between Aug. 1 and Election Day. The president is also weighing the possibility of headlining fundraisers in Washington, D.C.
The goal of the president’s campaign travel is to rally the Republican base and encourage those at rallies to turn out and vote for Republican candidates in the midterm electionss.
The source said September is typically a busy month for presidents, but that the president is likely to travel up to three times as much as former President Barack Obama did in September 2014.
The president is focused on expanding the GOP majority in the Senate, protecting the House and winning gubernatorial races, according to the source.
North Dakota, Missouri and Montana are likely to be crucial in the president’s goal of picking up more seats in the Senate. Trump won the electoral votes in each those states in 2016 against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In North Dakota and Missouri, the Republican candidate is currently polling above the Democratic incumbent. Given Trump’s previous success in those states, his endorsement and presence on the ground could help put the Republican challengers over the top.
In other tight Senate races, like Nevada, the president could be a boon to the Republican Sen. Dean Heller, who is neck and neck with Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen. Trump has already tried to give Heller a boost, labeling Rosen “Whacky Jacky” at Nevada Republicans’ state convention in June.
One detail that is worthy of note is that the president is, for the time being, staying out of swing state races. The president has repeatedly said there will not be a “blue wave” in November, but that Republican voters will instead deliver a “red wave.”
Conventional wisdom has Democrats narrowly claiming the majority in the House in November, but the Senate is widely considered to stay under Republican control. RealClearPolitics’ polling average of a generic congressional ballot has Democrats at roughly a 7 percentage point advantage over Republicans.
While the source did not say what candidate or race the president is looking to endorse in South Dakota and Kentucky, there are two races in those states that the president might target. South Dakota has a gubernatorial election, featuring Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D. Rep. Andy Barr, R-KY, could also use the president’s help.
Barr has voted with Trump nearly 97 percent of the time. Noem has voted in-line with the president frequently, but not as often as Barr. Noem has voted just under 92 percent of the time in-line with the president’s position.
Trump has not been shy about his commitment to vigorously campaign for Republicans heading into November.
“I am going to spend probably four or five days a week helping people because we need more Republicans,” Trump told Reuters in January. “To get the real agenda through, we need more Republicans.”
Trump upped his pledge in late July, when he told Fox News he plans to campaign for Republicans upwards of “six days a week,” and target “difficult” races where the Republican candidate could use help.
“I will go six or seven days a week when we’re 60 days out, and I will be campaigning for all of these great people that do have a difficult race,” Trump said.
Straying from precedent, the president has dolled out more endorsements ahead of primaries than previous administrations, and thrown his weight behind candidates he believes will help accomplish his “America First” agenda in Congress. Thus far, Trump has endorsed 49 GOP candidates, and 31 of those endorsements came ahead of a primary.
Trump is also raising money for both Republicans in 2018 and his own reelection campaign in 2020.
The president attended a private fundraiser Friday at the Southampton home of Nathan’s Famous hot dog chairman Howard Lorber. Roughly 70 guests attended the fundraiser, including many wealthy individuals. A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee told the Washington Examiner that the event brought in $3 million for the Trump Victory Fund, which benefits both the president’s reelection campaign and the larger Republican party.
Republicans are out-raising Democrats astronomically. Since the onset of the 2018 election cycle, the RNC has brought in $277.2 million, compared to the Democratic National Committee’s $109 million. The RNC has roughly $42 million in cash on hand and, notably, has no debt.
The vast majority of Republican voters are behind the president, with some polls pegging Republican approval for the president upwards of 90 percent. There is some concern that the president, while highly popular with Republican and conservative voters, might work to alienate Independent voters that GOP candidates in tight elections will likely need to win. Democratic voters have a very unfavorable view of the president, as do some Independent voters.
