Trump Vows to Campaign in 35 Races for GOP Midterm Push

President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Republican lawmakers facing tough reelection campaigns to run on his White House record despite his sagging popularity, and he pledged to campaign in all of the roughly three dozen contests that are likely to determine control of Congress. Speaking at an End of Summer BBQ dinner in the Rose Garden, Trump told his party’s most vulnerable lawmakers they had a triumphant story to tell voters, according to AP News.

A Party Facing Headwinds

Voters’ dim views of the economy and the ongoing war in Iran have put Republicans in a tough spot as the midterm election season enters its final stretch. Trump’s approval rating stands at approximately 33 percent, the lowest of either of his two terms, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released the week of August 31. Gas prices have exceeded $4 per gallon for five consecutive weeks, and a Washington Post/Ipsos poll from July found that roughly 6 in 10 registered voters cited the economy or high prices as the most important factor for their midterm vote.

Despite these headwinds, Trump struck an optimistic tone before a gathering that included Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and House Speaker Mike Johnson. “All you have to do is talk about it, and you’re going to win and you’re going to win big,” Trump said, a week before the party gathers in Dallas for an unusual midterm convention.

Pledging a Blitz of Campaigning

Control of Congress will come down to about 35 races, Trump said. He pledged to spend the final 30 days before the November 3 election campaigning hard in those battlegrounds, recalling his aggressive travel schedule ahead of his own White House victory two years ago.

“I’m going to go to every one of those 35 places, and we’re going to see if we can get everyone elected,” Trump said, according to the New York Post. He added that he would conduct tele-townhalls, potentially as many as 10 per night, in the run-up to the midterms.

Trump specifically listed Senate races in Alaska, where Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan faces Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola, and Texas, where Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton is running against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. Trump backed Paxton in this year’s primary despite a scandal-plagued past, and he poked fun at his style of dress while defending his record: “You might not love his look. You might not love his television interviews. But he was the best attorney general in the country, perhaps.”

Republicans’ midterm struggles, Trump suggested, were simply following a pattern that virtually all modern presidents have faced. “Whether you’re a good president or a great president, you lose the midterms,” he said. “We’re going to turn that around because there’s no reason for it.”

A Convention and a War Chest Under Scrutiny

The dinner came one week before the Republican Party gathers in Dallas on September 9-10 for its first-ever midterm convention, which Trump and Vance are set to keynote. The RNC is billing it as “a primetime showcase for President Trump’s success, candidates, and causes that have propelled the 2026 midterms to unprecedented focus,” as AP News reported. The convention agenda includes segments on tax cuts, healthcare affordability, the border, trade, and domestic manufacturing, though there is no programming related to foreign policy or the war in Iran.

Meanwhile, some battleground Republicans have said they will skip the convention to campaign in their districts, as ABC News reported. Roughly 100 House Republican members and candidates are expected to attend, with the House Republican campaign committee asking lawmakers to contribute between $25,000 and $100,000 to attend.

Trump’s main political organization, MAGA Inc., had more than $403 million at the end of July but has spent very little on midterm races so far, frustrating Republicans in battleground races who are waiting for the president to open his campaign wallet, as AP News reported. “Hope springs eternal,” said Republican donor Dan Eberhart. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said, “We need help from the president. I am hoping that the president is going to spend $100 or $200 million in Texas, but he has not committed to it yet.”

The Message Challenge

The Republican Party is struggling to settle on a message to address voters’ economic concerns. The word “gasoline” is mentioned only once across more than a dozen RNC talking points released in August, according to AP News reporting. Instead, Republicans are focusing on Democratic Socialists of America candidates, warning about socialism or even communism. At least eight DSA members or DSA-backed candidates secured Democratic nominations for Congress this primary season.

Some vulnerable Republican candidates have begun subtly distancing themselves from Trump after winning their primaries, removing or downplaying his name from their campaign websites, as AP News reported. However, most Republican candidates continue to embrace Trump, seeing him as the party’s best asset for turning out the base.

The dinner itself drew controversy for serving beef at a time when many Americans are struggling with the cost of living, as The Daily Beast noted. Menus checkered in yellow gingham called it an “end of summer BBQ” featuring cheeseburgers.

What to Watch

With two months until Election Day, the central question is whether Trump’s aggressive campaign schedule and the GOP’s focus on cultural messaging can overcome voters’ economic anxieties. The Dallas convention will offer an early test of the party’s ability to project unity, even as some of its most vulnerable members choose to stay home and campaign in their districts. Trump’s pledge to spend the final month of the campaign in battleground races suggests he understands the stakes, but whether his presence — and his war chest — will be enough to overcome the political headwinds remains an open question.