Trump to make final midterm push with 11 rallies in six days

President Trump is set to embark on a campaign blitz in the final week before the midterm elections, traveling to eight states to provide a last-minute boost to GOP candidates in key races, the White House announced Monday. 

The president will hold 11 campaign events in six days beginning Wednesday, including stops in Florida, Montana, Indiana, Missouri and other battleground states that will determine control of the Senate.

Following a previously announced rally on Wednesday in Florida for gubernatorial candidate former Rep. Ron DeSantis (R), Trump will head to Columbia, Mo., on Thursday where Senate candidate Josh Hawley, the state attorney general, is aiming to unseat Sen. Claire McCaskill (D).

{mosads}The president will begin the day on Friday in Huntington, W.Va., where state attorney Patrick Morrisey is challenging Sen. Joe Manchin (D). Trump will then travel to Indianapolis, Ind., to boost former state lawmaker Mike Braun in his bid against Sen. Joe Donnelly (D).

Trump will spend the first part of the day Saturday in Bozeman, Mont., returning to the state for a third time since Labor Day to bolster state auditor Matt Rosendale’s campaign against Sen. Jon Tester (D). 

The president will jet off to Pensacola, Fla., later in the day for another rally in support of DeSantis in his race against Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum (D). Trump has backed Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) in his Senate race against Sen. Bill Nelson (D) as well, but Scott has yet to appear at a campaign rally with the president.

Sunday will see Trump make stops in Macon, Ga., to back gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp (R) in his contest against Democrat Stacey Abrams, as well as Chattanooga, Tenn., where he will urge support for Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) in her race against former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) to replace retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R).

Trump will make three stops on the final day before Election Day. He will head to Cleveland to back gubernatorial candidate Mike DeWine (R) against Richard Cordray (D), followed by a return trip to Indiana and another stop in Missouri.

While Kemp and DeSantis are candidates closely tied to Trump locked in heated gubernatorial races, the other contests focus on swing Senate contests. All but the open Tennessee race features a Democratic incumbent running for reelection in a state Trump won in 2016.

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election forecaster, rates the Montana, Missouri, Indiana, Florida and Tennessee races as “toss-ups.”

The West Virginia race “leans Democratic,” according to the Cook Political Report.

The president has been in full-on campaign mode over the past month, holding 15 political rallies since Oct. 1. The events largely follow the same script, with Trump tearing into Democrats, the media and his critics while touting the economy, and warning of elevated crime and illegal immigration if the GOP loses its congressional majorities.

Trump’s campaign rally rhetoric has been the subject of scrutiny in the aftermath of a violent week that saw men arrested for mailing pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and for killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

The president has rejected calls to temper his tone at such rallies, where he frequently derides the media and rips his Democratic critics. The events are often marked by chants of “CNN sucks” and “lock her up,” the latter referring to former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“I think I’ve been toned down, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told reporters last week before leaving for a rally in North Carolina.

As Trump travels the campaign trail, prominent Democrats including former President Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden have made separate trips to Nevada, Wisconsin, Florida and Georgia to boost Democratic turnout in hotly contested races.

Republicans are seeking to hold on to their majorities in the Senate and House, though Democrats have expressed optimism that they will retake control of the latter. Democrats need to pick up 23 seats to take the majority in the House, and must gain two seats in the Senate to secure a majority.

A full list of Trump’s remaining campaign rallies announced so far:

• Oct. 31: Fort Myers, Fla. (Ron DeSantis – governor/Rick Scott – Senate)
• Nov. 1: Columbia, Mo. (Josh Hawley – Senate)
• Nov. 2: Huntington, W.Va. (Patrick Morrisey – Senate/Carol Miller – House) and Indianapolis, Ind. (Mike Braun – Senate)
• Nov. 3: Bozeman, Mont. (Matt Rosendale – Senate/Rep. Greg Gianforte (R) – House) and Pensacola, Fla. (DeSantis/Scott)
• Nov. 4: Macon, Ga. (Brian Kemp – governor) and Chattanooga, Tenn. (Marsha Blackburn – Senate)
• Nov. 5: Cleveland, Ohio (Mike DeWine – governor), Fort Wayne, Ind. (Braun) and Cape Girardeau, Mo. (Hawley)

-Updated 9:45 p.m.