Trump Cancels Kansas and Iowa Rallies Days Before Midterms, Shifts to Tele-Rallies

President Donald Trump canceled rallies planned in Kansas and Iowa, the Republican National Committee announced Oct. 29, pulling back from in-person campaign stops with less than a week left before the midterm elections. Instead, Trump will hold tele-rallies for candidates in 19 states, which the committee said would let the president “reach more voters in the limited time left before polls close.”

The Kansas event had been scheduled for Oct. 30 in Salina, and the Iowa rally for Nov. 1 in Dubuque. Trump still has a rally planned in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Oct. 30. The cancellations follow weeks of near-nightly rallies that put Trump at the center of the midterm contests, in which Democrats are seeking to take control of Congress from Republicans.

Speaking to reporters Oct. 29, Trump said he felt confident that Republican incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall would win in Kansas. Asked why the Kansas rally was canceled, he said, “You know what the reason is? I don’t feel like I have to go to Kansas.” Marshall told reporters he did not know exactly why the president canceled, but he believed it was because his campaign was “doing so well in the polls” and the president had “better places to spend his time.”

Two Senate races that tightened late

Republicans were strongly favored to hold the Senate seats in Iowa and Kansas at the start of the election cycle, according to USA Today, but polling averages now show tight races in both states. In Kansas, the RealClearPolitics average puts Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton 0.2 percentage points ahead of Marshall. In Iowa, the average gives Republican nominee Ashley Hinson a 0.5 percentage point lead over Democrat Josh Turek.

Trump has already campaigned in both states, holding a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Oct. 22 and one in Park City, Kansas, on Oct. 19. USA Today reported that Hinson and Marshall have at times sought to keep some distance from the president during their campaigns. Trump carried both Iowa and Kansas by double digits in 2024.

A late change in campaign plans

Trump has held more than two dozen rallies in the closing stretch of the campaign, often speaking for nearly two hours at a time, and USA Today reported that his voice has turned hoarse from the nightly pace. His approval ratings are underwater in both states, according to the Civiqs state-by-state tracker cited by USA Today: a net minus 1 percent in Kansas and minus 20 percent in Iowa.

Some Republicans have questioned the campaign’s approach. Karl Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion article that the approach “carries real risks,” arguing that the president was betting that his presence would turn out more of his own supporters than it would motivate opponents. The final test comes at the ballot box, with the canceled rallies replaced by telephone events and the Florida rally still on the schedule for Oct. 30.

Reporting based on coverage by USA Today.