Republicans brace for midterm losses as Trump rallies red states
The gist
House Republicans are privately discussing how many seats they will lose in the Nov. 3 midterms.
GOP worries now extend to Senate races in Ohio, Kansas and Texas.
How it unfolded
- Oct 27, 2026Trump was scheduled to hold rallies in Texas on Tuesday, Ohio on Wednesday and Iowa on Sunday. Republican Senate campaign officials said they were less concerned about Iowa than Ohio, Kansas and Texas.
- Oct 29, 2026Trump traveled to South Carolina to rally Republicans, where recent polling showed a tied Senate race in a state he won by 18 points in 2024. More than 40 million Americans had voted or mailed ballots as of Wednesday night, per University of Florida's Election Lab.
- Oct 30, 2026House Republicans were privately discussing how many seats they would lose, with imperiled incumbents begging party leaders for more money, per six people involved in internal conversations. Some incumbents stopped doing their own polling weeks ago to save money for swaying voters.