President Donald Trump began what he called a 32-day campaign blitz Thursday, heading to Texas and Oklahoma as Vice President JD Vance worked Florida. Their target is the Nov. 3 midterm elections, 33 days away, which will decide control of Congress. Both men are spending time in heavily Republican territory because candidates there face tougher races than party officials once expected.
Prices, War and a Messaging Problem
Republicans have grown more pessimistic about their chances. Trump has brushed aside concerns about high costs and gas prices, even as the unpopular war in Iran continues. He sees the trouble as a failure of salesmanship. “We're not getting the word out,” he told reporters Wednesday. “I mean, we're just not getting it.” He said he's hitting the road “because nobody's selling it.”
Vance took a different approach Wednesday in Harlingen, Texas. He acknowledged that people are frustrated by high prices. “I know that there are people out there who are frustrated by the pace of progress,” he said. He blamed the previous administration, saying the White House has spent “every single day fighting for you, diggin' ourselves out of the hole that Joe Biden left us in.”
Democrats laid the blame elsewhere. DNC Deputy Communications Director Kendall Witmer said Trump and Vance “started a deadly and costly war with Iran that sent the economy spiraling and pushed prices even higher.” The Republican National Committee's Delanie Bomar countered that the president is “energizing our base” and that the party has “the resources to spend.”
Competitive Races in Red Territory
In Oklahoma, Trump planned to campaign with Republican Mike Mazzei, who's running for governor against Democratic state House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson. The event was set for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, making Trump one of a handful of U.S. presidents to visit tribal nations while in office. Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe said the rally showed Republicans “are in full-on panic mode.”
In Texas, Trump planned to tour a truck manufacturing facility before his evening stop in Oklahoma. Republicans are spending heavily to support state Attorney General Ken Paxton in a Senate race. Paxton faces a competitive challenge from Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. Two campaign officials said Paxton planned to attend Trump's White House event in Denton.
Vance visited Lakeland, Florida, with Republican Byron Donalds, who's running for governor against David Jolly, a Republican-turned-independent now running as a Democrat. Voter concerns about affordability and data centers have become central issues there. Vance also rallied Wednesday with Eric Flores, who faces a tight U.S. House race in south Texas.
A Packed Travel Schedule
Trump also plans to appear Saturday in Vandalia, Ohio, and Monday in Grand Island, Nebraska. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles privately told Republican senators this week that Trump would make a near-daily campaign sprint. Attendees described the schedule she showed them as extensive, with events almost every day.
West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said White House officials were “acknowledging the headwinds.” She added, “they have a strategy, and we have a strategy.” She defended sending Trump to conservative areas. “He can get more of his voters out — that are going to be our voters — than anybody else,” she said.
One person familiar with the party's strategy said the Oklahoma stop in Durant sits near the Dallas-Fort Worth media market, so Trump's remarks could reach Texas voters. A Friday stop in Mobile, Alabama, aims to boost Sen. Tommy Tuberville's run for governor and shore up support in Florida's panhandle for Donalds.
Why This Matters:
The president is spending the final stretch before the midterms in states Republicans once counted on, while facing household concerns: high costs, gas prices and a war many voters don't support. Vance's acknowledgment of frustration over prices suggests the administration knows those pressures are real, even as Trump calls the problem one of messaging. From a center-left view, voters must ask whether leaders will meet affordability concerns with policy or rallies. Control of Congress will determine how much oversight the White House faces on the war and the economy. Governor and Senate races in Oklahoma, Texas and Florida also matter to people who rely on state-level decisions about costs and services.