In ruby-red Kansas, Trump contemplates the possibility of a Democratic win in the state
The president came out in support of Senator Roger Marshall, who is facing and unexpectedly strong challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton The fact that Donald Trump was here at all said more about a looming electoral disaster facing his Republican party next month than anything contained in his dark and discursive 98-minute stump speech. On Monday, amid raucous chants of “USA! USA!”, the president held his first…
Key points
- Trump held his first Kansas rally in eight years to back Senator Roger Marshall against Democrat Adam Hamilton.
- Polls show Marshall and Hamilton neck and neck in a state no Democrat has won in the Senate since 1932.
- Trump told the crowd Kansas is "tending toward the purple" and urged support for Marshall.
Donald Trump held his first campaign rally in Kansas in eight years on Monday, speaking to about 5,000 supporters at the Heartland Credit Union Arena in Park City, outside Wichita. The rally was aimed at backing first-term Republican Senator Roger Marshall, who faces an unexpectedly strong challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton, a Methodist megachurch pastor.
No Democrat has won a US Senate seat in Kansas since 1932, but opinion polls show Marshall and Hamilton running neck and neck ahead of the 3 November midterms. In the third quarter, Hamilton reportedly raised $11m while Marshall raised $800,000.
Trump warns of purple shift
Trump acknowledged the state's shifting politics, telling supporters that Kansas is "tending toward the purple" and noting it already has a Democratic governor, Laura Kelly. He said that was why he had to be sure Republicans "get this guy".
You're really sort of – I hate to say it – you're sort of tending toward the purple
— Donald Trump
Attacks on Hamilton
Trump called Hamilton a "radical left lunatic" and a "phoney who's pretending to be a moderate", and made a series of claims about him. Marshall, introducing himself with Chuck Berry's Johnny B Goode, said Hamilton was "too woke for Kansas" and listed protests and positions he attributed to the Democrat.
Trump also announced a new program to provide farmers with $8bn in support to offset diesel costs during the harvest season. The article notes farmers have been hit by high diesel prices and that ranchers were upset by tariff and immigration policies.
