By Bo Erickson and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Wednesday to campaign aggressively for Republican candidates ahead of November’s midterm elections, saying he has planned extensive travel to states with high-stakes races.
At a White House dinner for congressional Republicans, Trump touted his success campaigning for the party and promised a busy schedule of appearances in the final month, similar to his own non-stop 2024 campaign.
“I will be with you 100% all the way to November,” Trump told the crowd, which included Republican lawmakers such as Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Tom Barrett who represent some of the most competitive districts.
“It’s all about 35 races …. We are going to see if we can get everyone elected,” Trump added, referring to congressional contests.
The president faces weak approval ratings over the Iran war and persistent inflation. That worries Republicans who are fighting to preserve their party’s narrow congressional majorities in the November 3 votes.
Just 33% of Americans approved of Trump’s performance in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on August 31, the lowest of his political career and the third straight month at that level.
Trump’s Iran war has disrupted global oil supplies, raising U.S. energy prices and deepening a U.S. cost-of-living crisis. The conflict has entered its seventh month with no imminent diplomatic efforts to end it in sight. Washington and Tehran have in the past days exchanged their biggest barrage of fire since July, renewing concerns of full-fledged war.
Trump has in recent weeks traveled to Texas, where he headlined a fundraiser for state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate. The president also went to South Carolina to campaign for Darline Graham in a U.S. Senate primary runoff, which she won. She seeks to win the Senate seat of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, in November.
“I’ll be making a lot of stops,” Trump told reporters earlier Wednesday in the Oval Office. Among those will be a campaign visit to Alaska on behalf of incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan. He added that he will also stump for “a few governors.”
“I love the governors, but we’re interested in the Senate, and we’re interested in the House,” Trump said.
The president is now set to speak on both nights of the Republican Party’s unusual midterm convention next week, a change that some insiders attributed to concerns over the Republican National Committee’s ability to attract members and activists to the event.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Bo EricksonAdditional reporting by Christian Martinez, editing by David Ljunggren and Cynthia Osterman)
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