October 17, 2026

“Early in September, President Trump gathered Republicans running in competitive races for a dinner in the White House Rose Garden. Prime aged beef burgers were on the menu as the president made a pledge to spend the final month before the midterms campaigning for the approximately 30 Republican candidates in attendance,” NPR reports.

“‘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 confidently.”

“The White House hasn’t clarified which 35 places the president was talking about that night. Since then, Trump has campaigned with fewer than a third of those candidates. Rather than focus on swing states and swing districts as the president said he would, his travel schedule has taken him to a lot of Republican territory.”

“No single state in America better captures the forces and fault lines shaping the coming midterm elections than Pennsylvania,” the New York Times reports.

“Just two years ago, Pennsylvania was at the epicenter of a nationwide Republican revival. President Trump swept its electoral votes. His party ousted an entrenched Democratic senator. And it was the only state where Republicans flipped two House seats.”

“Now the pendulum has swung. Mr. Trump’s support has crumbled. And Democrats are targeting four bellwether House districts in the state that together would give them the congressional majority.”