AP reported that President Donald Trump canceled planned Kansas and Iowa rallies, with phone events planned across nearly 20 states as recent polls showed Democrats ahead in two Senate contests. The midterm election is scheduled for Nov. 3, according to the Federal Election Commission.
RealClearPolling’s generic congressional ballot average, based on surveys dated Oct. 8-26, put Democrats at 51.4% and Republicans at 43.2%, an 8.2-percentage-point gap. The figure combines multiple polls rather than responses from one survey.
CNN/SSRS polls of likely voters showed Democrat James Talarico leading Republican Ken Paxton 49% to 43% in Texas. The poll surveyed 923 likely voters from Oct. 20-27 and had a 4.2-percentage-point margin of sampling error. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed led Republican Mike Rogers 49% to 42% among 768 likely voters surveyed over the same dates; the margin was 4.7 points.
In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton led incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall 49% to 45% among 838 likely voters surveyed Oct. 20-26. CNN reported a 4.5-point margin of sampling error and said the race had no clear leader. Trump told AP, “I don’t feel I have to go to Kansas,” and said Marshall was doing well. EconoTimes previously covered Trump’s Kansas campaign appearances amid close Senate polling.
A Marquette Law School Poll of 818 Wisconsin registered voters found 48% named inflation and the cost of living as their most important issue. In the Oct. 14-22 survey, 37% approved of Trump’s job performance and 61% disapproved. Asked about personal finances compared with a year earlier, 42% said they were worse off, 42% about the same and 16% better off. The poll’s margin of error was 4.3 points.
AP reported that the Republican National Committee (RNC) said phone rallies would let Trump reach voters nationwide. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters called the closing effort a “72-hour sprint” and said it would be “a huge boost in the closing days.”
The survey periods ended by Oct. 27, while AP reported the rally cancellations on Oct. 29, so the polls do not measure voter responses to the schedule change. The Federal Election Commission lists Nov. 3 as the general election date.
