Party Rift Threatens Democrats’ Bid for Senate Control

More than 52 million votes had already been cast as a dispute among Michigan Democrats threatened the party’s effort to retake the U.S. Senate. The contest is about who gets to steer the chamber, while voters are weighing rising gas and grocery prices and the economic fallout of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran.

The people at the ballot line

Jon Lutz, a 60-year-old civil engineer from Dubuque, attended his first Trump rally and said he wanted Republicans to keep control of the House and Senate so the president’s agenda could advance. “He’s done what he’s said he’s going to do,” Lutz said. “I want him to keep going.”

Wendy Kuenzler, 44, of Burlington, was also seeing Trump for the first time. Waiting at the concession stand, she said Iowa was at a crossroads with several competitive elections. She planned to support Republican Senate nominee Ashley Hinson and said she didn’t blame Trump for rising gas and grocery prices. “He’s on the path to correcting it,” she said.

Those choices come as voters question the economic effects of tariffs and the war in Iran. Trump’s rallies reflected a defensive posture: rather than concentrating on states that backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, Trump focused largely on states he had previously dominated. The midterm campaign has become a referendum on his second term in the White House.

In Dubuque, Republicans were trying to hold a U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s office. Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes the city, had also become competitive as Republicans worked to protect their U.S. House majority. “We’re really here to support Ashley,” Trump said, referring to Hinson. “We have to get the Senate.”

Michigan’s party machinery

The sharpest split surfaced in Michigan, where Haley Stevens appeared with Republican Mike Rogers at a church service and later endorsed him. Stevens, a congresswoman who had criticized Abdul El-Sayed as insufficiently supportive of Israel, said she acted after an invitation to a Democratic event was rescinded.

“Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away,” Stevens said in a video announcing her endorsement. “And he’s right. And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”

Party leaders answered with calls for unity. Chuck Schumer of New York, described as the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, said the party was “united in our support” for El-Sayed. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who leads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Democrats would “stand firmly” behind him and “reject any efforts to divide Democrats.”

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a leading supporter of El-Sayed, had earlier dismissed concerns about a split. “Haley Stevens lost a very, very close primary. I can understand being upset about that,” the Vermont independent said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “But from what I can see, all over the state, people are standing up, they’re gonna stand with Abdul.”

Michigan is key to Democrats’ bid to retake the Senate. If Democrats fail to hold the seat on Tuesday, they’ll face added pressure to win in more Republican-leaning territory, including Texas, Kansas, Ohio and Iowa. The report describes party endorsements and campaign appearances, but no mutual-aid effort or community-organized alternative.

A defensive campaign for control

Trump planned to close the final weekend of campaigning with a stop in Salina, Kansas, where Adam Hamilton was mounting a bid to become the first Kansas Democrat to win a Senate seat in 94 years. In Iowa, Democrat Rob Sand, the nominee for governor, held several events across the state on Sunday.

Trump had held more than two dozen rallies in October, relying on repeated appearances before loyal supporters to overcome Republican headwinds. Some rallies were overshadowed by meandering asides and graphic descriptions of the physiques of male politicians he supported. On Saturday, he paused campaigning and spent the evening at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he bragged about guests’ wealth at a jungle-themed Halloween party and said, “The country has never done better.”

Outgoing Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., warned that Trump’s policies, particularly tariffs, could hurt Republicans. “Tariffs are not popular here in the Midwest,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I tried telling the president that.” Bacon predicted “there will be a debate in the party” if Republicans suffered significant losses that week.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said he was confident Republicans would keep the Senate and backed Trump’s campaign role. “There’s no doubt that President Trump has said himself that the midterm election is about him,” Scott told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “His agenda, without any question, is on the ballot.”