WASHINGTON, D.C. – As we get closer to the midterm elections President Donald Trump has made a few rally stops in predominately “red” states. A Republican source said it’s to help energize voters and boost Republican candidates, but a political scientist thinks Republicans should take a different approach.
From President Trump’s rallies in Nebraska, Ohio, Alabama, Oklahoma and even Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Alaska, the Trump administration is full steam ahead on the campaign trail but in noticeably Republican-led states.
People familiar with the Republican strategy said the President’s visits to these states are all part of the plan. They said he’s able to engage and activate low-propensity voters, and that’s why he’ll be barnstorming the country to activate those voters for the November election. They also add certain visits hit several media markets to reach larger audiences in those areas. However, a political scientist sees it differently.
“This is really a signal that things are not going well for the Republicans,” said Dr. Todd Belt, professor and director of the George Washington University political management program. “There’s no reason Donald Trump should be in Ohio other than the fact that the candidates are just not doing well and he’s the reason candidates aren’t doing well. His approval ratings are very, very low; he’s trying to rally up his base. He’s also trying to get some images in friendly areas where he can show he has full rallies and people coming out to support him to try to reverse the narrative that things are going very poorly for his administration.”
While it’s unclear if these visits to red states are helping Republicans energize their base and boost their candidates, Dr. Belt said Republicans may want to rethink their approach.
“Republicans are really on the defense and they’re trying to sure up those states that should be pretty easy wins for them,” said Dr. Belt. “If they want to go on the offense, they need to go to some place like Michigan where they can stop the Democrats from holding a state and it would make it more difficult for them to get the majority.”
A Republican source said the President will also visit swing states and even a blue state like New York ahead of the midterms.
