President Trump is campaigning in Oklahoma this week ahead of the midterms, marking his first campaign stop this October in a deep red state. The trip comes after a federal judge blocked his attempt to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, and after the White House removed CNN from the press pool for the trip days later.
Trump promised earlier this month to campaign in 35 of the most competitive races. His first stop is in Durant, Oklahoma, a state described as “comfortably red.” The rally takes place there, with a stop in Alabama to follow, where Mobile is the destination.
Oklahoma and the Rally
The Oklahoma stop is designed to energize base voters in Texas, according to an RNC official who spoke anonymously. The rally is located near the Texas border, within the Dallas-Fort Worth media market.
Trump endorsed Mike Mazzei, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who barely won his primary. Mazzei’s primary victory was narrow.
The trip also includes stops in Iowa and Alaska. In Iowa, Trump announced a $15 billion steel plant being built. In Alaska, he announced a $54 billion South Korean investment in a project to export natural gas from the state.
Both states are battlegrounds, and the announcements are framed as evidence of economic support for voters in those regions.
The Strategy Behind the Stops
Republican strategist Alex Conant drew a comparison to the 2006 midterms when George W. Bush campaigned almost exclusively in red states. Conant said Trump follows a similar pattern, avoiding districts or states where there are as many Democrats as Republicans or many independent voters when his favorability numbers are low.
Conant’s framing suggests the strategy is about efficiency: Trump focuses on places where his support is strongest, rather than trying to win over swing voters.
Veteran Republican pollster John McHenry told Ordoñez that Trump is so tied to the party that lawmakers must tread carefully. McHenry said it is impossible to run away from the president and that voters could turn off his supporters if party members distance themselves.
“And the thing that we’ve learned over the last couple of years is that it’s impossible to run away from the president. This president has a way of throwing his arms around you. And you can’t turn too far away from President Trump without turning off his voters.”
The pollster’s warning reflects a broader concern among Republicans: that Trump’s popularity is so closely tied to the party that distancing himself risks alienating voters who might otherwise support GOP candidates.
The Pattern of the Campaign
Trump’s schedule shows a pattern of visiting battleground states while skipping competitive races where his approval ratings are lower. The RNC official assured Ordoñez that Trump “will later visit battleground states like Florida, like Texas, Ohio and also Michigan.”
The contrast between the two approaches is stark. Trump campaigns in red states like Oklahoma and Alabama, while the RNC official’s assurance of the later stops covers a wide range of competitive districts.
What This Means for the Party
The strategy is focused on places where Trump’s support is strongest. The question is whether that approach helps the party in November.
Republicans argue that Trump is so tied to the party that lawmakers must tread carefully even when distancing themselves, and that turning too far away risks alienating his voters.
The coming weeks will test whether Trump’s presence in Oklahoma, Alabama and the battleground states he visits later can translate into wins for GOP candidates across the country.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs neither the president’s plan to exclude outlets from the White House nor the judge’s order that allowed it, and instead backs a free press and a White House that treats all news outlets equally. The paper’s north star is individual freedom, small business and no concentrations of power, and a White House that picks winners and losers among news outlets violates all three.
The story shows the administration’s hand: it is willing to use its own power to punish outlets it dislikes, and a judge’s order gave it permission to do so. That is a concentration of power, and the paper opposes it.
The paper wants a White House that opens its doors to all outlets equally, regardless of which ones happen to agree with the president.
Source material: “Trump visits deep red Oklahoma to campaign for GOP candidates ahead of midterms,” NPR.
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