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Trump's Midterm Marathon Rolls On: After Ohio Rally for Husted, President Heads to Nebraska Next

Fresh off a Vandalia rally for embattled Sen. Jon Husted, the president is set to land in Nebraska Monday as he works through a vow to campaign in 35 of the nation's most competitive races.

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BY OBSERVER STAFF

The Weekly Observer

OCT 4, 2026 · 3 MIN READ
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Trump's Midterm Marathon Rolls On: After Ohio Rally for Husted, President Heads to Nebraska Next
Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally. File photo by Gage Skidmore / Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

President Trump rallied Saturday in Vandalia, Ohio, in support of Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is fending off a competitive challenge from Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown, before setting his sights on Nebraska for the next stop in a sprawling midterm campaign swing.

Trump is expected to headline a rally in Nebraska on Monday, traveling to Grand Island to back Sen. Pete Ricketts in his heated race against independent-turned-Democrat Dan Osborn.

35 Races, One Closing Argument

The Ohio and Nebraska stops cap a week that also took the president to Oklahoma and Alabama, part of what he has described as a nationwide tour to shore up vulnerable Republicans. Trump has vowed to personally campaign in 35 of the most competitive battleground races before Election Day, with additional stops already planned in Iowa, Florida, Texas and Alaska.

PRETEND I'M ON THE BALLOT

At stop after stop, Trump has urged Republican voters to 'pretend I'm on the ballot', framing the midterms as a referendum on his own second term even though his name won't appear on a single ballot line. The strategy reflects historical headwinds: the party holding the White House has lost ground in nearly every midterm for decades, and Republicans currently hold only narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Both the Ohio and Nebraska races are considered top Senate battlegrounds, and party strategists on both sides say the outcomes could help determine control of the chamber come January.

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