Trump plans eight-state rallies in campaign swing

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump plans to hold campaign rallies in eight states next week in a final push ahead of November elections that will determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress, a White House official said. Trump will travel to Missouri, West Virginia, Montana, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida in the final days before the November 6 vote, the official said. All are states the president carried in the 2016 election and have
competitive races for either Congress or governor.
The president plans to hold at least 10 rallies in the space of six days, the official said.
An internal memo from White House director of political affairs Bill Stepien suggests Trump’s team is making preparations to explain away a Republican loss of the House and position Trump to claim credit if the party holds onto control of the Senate or even expands its margin. The memo stresses the challenging political climate for Republican incumbents, emphasizing the historical headwinds for the president’s party in midterm congressional elections, the large number of Republican incumbents retiring and Democratic challengers’ fundraising advantages.
The memo says Democratic challengers out-raised incumbent House Republicans in 92 districts in the last quarter.
Stepien also argues that states in which incumbent Democratic senators have faced tough challenges are competitive “only because of Trump” and the Republican party has “no better messenger.”