Trump Hits Red States as GOP Senate Races Tighten

President Donald Trump was scheduled to travel to Clemson University on Wednesday to rally for appointed Sen. Darline Graham, a stop in a state that shouldn't need his help. Trump carried South Carolina by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024, and the state wasn't considered a battleground heading into this fall. Still, there he was—one stop on a swing through Republican-leaning ground that has some conservatives asking why the effort is landing there.

Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, took over the remainder of her brother's term after his death. Trump endorsed her for a full term. She won the Republican nomination by beating Rep. Ralph Norman in a primary runoff by about five percentage points. Now she faces Democrat Annie Andrews.

The Itinerary

The South Carolina trip forms one part of a heavy travel schedule. Trump visited North Carolina on Tuesday and was slated to head to Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Texas over the following days. CNN noted that White House strategists hadn't sent him that week to the swing states with the closest races.

According to CNN's reporting, the stated aim was to boost turnout among conservative voters and shore up vulnerable Republicans. Some of those Republicans represent places that aren't supposed to be competitive. In Kansas, a deeply Republican state, Sen. Roger Marshall was set to debate Democrat Adam Hamilton for a second time on Wednesday night, as the Senate race had turned competitive.

Debates Across the Map

Wednesday night's debate slate carried real stakes. In Michigan, Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers was scheduled to face Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the final scheduled debate for an open Senate seat that Republicans hope to flip. In Wisconsin, a major swing state, Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany was set to meet Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a Democrat, in their only scheduled governor's debate.

The Rhetoric

CNN described Trump's campaign speeches as invoking fears of cultural and national collapse. At a Kansas rally Monday, he said, "Americans are going to stand up and declare that we will protect our civilization, we will preserve our religion, our values and our heritage, and we will never let our nation be conquered or destroyed by people that hate us," and used an antisemitic slur. He said Hamilton had told people to "repent because you were born White," a characterization CNN said misrepresented Hamilton's broader comments on race, self-reflection and personal faith.

Trump called El-Sayed, who was born in the United States, a "jihadist," and repeated the label Tuesday night in North Carolina. He also said, "if you have any problem with names, just call the guy Mohammed. You'll probably be right." In Kansas, while defending Marshall against criticism over medical billing practices, Trump used the slur "Shylock." CNN said Trump had used the term publicly in 2025 as well. On Tuesday, he attacked Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and questioned whether she was entitled to constitutional rights because she came from what he called a "shithouse" country.

In Arizona, Trump warned that a Democratic Congress would lead to children undergoing gender transitions at school without parental consent. "They want to mutilate, cut your children. It's unbelievable, what they do. ... Your son leaves as Jimmy and comes back home in three days as Janet, and they don't even ask you," he said. CNN called the claims baseless and said he had repeated similar stories in Georgia the previous week and in North Carolina on Tuesday. He also warned that unrest in France could spread to the United States if Democrats won, and said socialists and communists wanted to obliterate the republic.

Trump questioned Hamilton's standing in the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, saying, "He doesn't act like a pastor because his views aren't of a pastor." Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, joked Monday that a protester at one of his events must have crossed the border illegally to behave that way.

A Warning From Inside the Party

Not every Republican thinks the strategy fits the moment. Mark Sanford, the party's former governor of South Carolina, told CNN's Erin Burnett that the focus on transgender children misses what voters care about. "I think it's off-topic because the preponderance of folks that I talked to in and around South Carolina are worried about the economy, they're worried about affordability. They're worried about inflation," Sanford said. "I guess it's a way of changing the subject if what's going on isn't working for you ... but I don't see this as the issue that's going to move swing voters."

Why This Matters:

Sanford's critique goes to the core of how Republicans hold power. Voters who tell pollsters they're anxious about prices and inflation expect a governing party to talk about prices and inflation. When a president spends his rally time on cultural fights and personal attacks, the mismatch gives Democrats room to define the economic argument.

The geography matters too. If Republicans spend presidential capital defending seats in Kansas and South Carolina, that's capital they can't spend in Michigan or Wisconsin, where control of the Senate and key governorships may actually turn. Pairing a turnout strategy with a disciplined economic message is harder work. The coming weeks will show which instinct wins out.