Trump's midterm gamble: 30 days, 35 races, one shot to save the House and Senate

US President Donald Trump has laid out his plan to campaign for Republicans in the final stretch before the November midterm elections, telling party lawmakers he intends to hit the campaign trail for up to 35 competitive races over the last month of the contest.

Trump outlined the strategy on Wednesday at a White House Rose Garden dinner attended by Republican lawmakers in tough re-election fights, along with Vice President JD Vance and several cabinet officials, according to news reports. He said he plans to spend "the final 30 days, maybe a little more" travelling to each of the 35 races he is targeting.

Also read: Trump signs stopgap bill, keeping US government funded through December before midterm elections


The president did not name all the races on his list but asked the lawmakers present to flag contests that were tied or close, saying he could help pull even trailing candidates "over the line." Beginning in October, he also plans a series of tele-townhalls, as many as 10 a night, in the run-up to the November 3 elections, calling the format effective for reaching voters directly.

Trump named two races he intends to campaign in personally: Alaska, where he is backing incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, and Texas, where he is supporting state Attorney General Ken Paxton in a tightly contested Senate race against Democrat James Talarico.

He also compared the coming campaign push to the final four months of his 2024 presidential run, recalling that he gave up leisure entirely to focus on campaigning, describing that stretch as "no pleasure, work, work, work, fight, fight, fight, win, win, win."

What is at stake in the midterms

Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress, controlling the House 218-214 and the Senate 53-45, with two independents caucusing alongside Democrats. Democrats need a net gain of three seats to retake the House and four seats to flip the Senate in the November 3 elections, when all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats (33 regular contests plus two special elections) will be contested.

The Alaska Senate race, one of the cycle's most closely watched, has been complicated by a second candidate also named Dan Sullivan appearing on the general election ballot, a development Republicans have called an attempt to confuse voters and help Democratic candidate and former congresswoman Mary Peltola. In Texas, Paxton, who defeated incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a primary runoff earlier this year, has faced a tighter-than-expected race against Talarico, with several recent polls showing the Democrat ahead despite the state's Republican lean.

Also read: Donald Trump, JD Vance to dominate midterm convention as Republicans face mounting concerns

The Rose Garden dinner came a week ahead of the Republican Party's midterm-focused convention in Dallas, and amid mounting anxiety within the GOP over its prospects in November.

Politico reported that lawmakers have been pressing Trump to direct more of his political operation's war chest, reported at over 400 million dollars, towards vulnerable candidates, as the party faces headwinds over the economy, living costs and the fallout from the recent conflict with Iran.