Midterm Push: Trump returns to Ohio, Obama targets Georgia
With Election Day less than a week away, party leaders are targeting defensive states amid record fuel prices and a contentious North Carolina Senate race.
By Rebecca Svoboda ·
President Donald Trump returns to Ohio on Wednesday for the third time in a month. The visit marks the latest stop in a final campaign push to hold the Republican majority in Congress before the November 3 midterms. Former President Barack Obama will simultaneously rally Democrats in Georgia.
The scheduling reflects a defensive strategy for Republicans. They are focusing on states Trump won comfortably in 2024 while voters face record fuel prices and rising costs. An unpopular war in Iran also weighs on the national mood. Trump visited Mississippi on Monday and Texas on Tuesday. He plans to campaign in South Carolina, Florida, Kansas, and Iowa in the coming days.
Vice President JD Vance heads to North Carolina, where Republicans worry about losing a Senate seat. Michael Whatley, the former national party chair, faces Roy Cooper, a former governor, in the race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. The party's finances and the MAGA Inc. super PAC have provided key financial support to candidates in these competitive districts.
Obama is increasingly active in supporting Democratic candidates. In recent stops in Michigan, he criticized Trump for White House renovations and his personal wealth gains during office. In Georgia, Obama will join former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Bottoms is seeking to become the first Black woman elected governor in the United States. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a potential future presidential candidate, will also appear with them.
In Ohio, Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy faces Amy Acton, a former public health official. Sen. Jon Husted runs for governor, aiming to complete Vance's term. Husted, a former college football player, has received frequent praise from Trump regarding his physical appearance. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown is the Democratic nominee for governor.
A late-season controversy has erupted in the Ramaswamy-Acton race. A campaign ad featured Donna Arthur, Acton's mother, calling her daughter a liar who needs help due to a serious problem with honesty. Arthur, who has not seen her daughter in nearly 50 years, lost custody of her children after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton when she was 12. Acton, who served as Ohio state health director, says she has not seen her mother since 1978.
Trump backed the controversial ad. However, other Republicans, including Husted, have distanced themselves from the message.
Source: ABC News
