Trump stumps in Mississippi and South Carolina as GOP infighting deepens and Senate races tighten
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President Donald Trump campaigned in Mississippi and South Carolina while Republicans wrestled with write-in agitation, ugly campaign ads, and narrowing Senate contests that expose a party increasingly divided between grassroots anger and establishment discipline.
President Donald Trump held a rally in Corinth, Mississippi, as Republicans scramble to whip up their base ahead of the midterm elections. The event comes as GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith faces Democrat Scott Colom in a Senate race that has already drawn a $1.2 million ad blitz from the Senate Majority PAC.
In South Carolina, Trump returned to back Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to complete the term of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. The Cook Political Report recently shifted the state’s Senate contest from "Likely Republican" to "Lean Republican," noting that Democrat Annie Andrews has been building momentum.
A write-in campaign urging voters to choose Rep. Ralph Norman instead of Graham has surfaced among some GOP supporters, fueled by complaints about what organizers see as unfair national interference in the special primary, including from President Trump. One organizer said the effort reflects a wider frustration that the race could hand the seat to a Democrat for the first time since 1998.
Trump also spoke about foreign policy, tying the easing of Russia-related sanctions to the release of American Stephen Hubbard from Russian detention. He told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that bringing sanctions back would put Hubbard’s freedom at risk.
The president defended a controversial Ohio campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, saying he had no knowledge of its content and distancing himself from the ad’s creator, Vivek Ramaswamy.
"We gave nothing in exchange, which is very rare," Trump said when asked about the sanctions discussion.
"It would be a loss, but we see it as a loss either way. There's really no winning here for us, as grassroots conservatives," said Avery Milton, a founder of the write-in movement.
"The Department anticipates this release will put downward pressure on home heating oil costs and make a real difference for Maine homeowners as they prepare for winter," Sen. Susan Collins said in a press release about releasing fuel from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.
Republican leaders, including Vice President JD Vance, pressed party members to concentrate on winning elections instead of picking apart the Ohio ad, dismissing political infighting as "whining" that distracts from campaign objectives.
Political analysts said that while some of the GOP’s internal disputes may have only limited effects, the mix of competitive Senate races, inflammatory advertising, and the president’s active campaigning highlights a difficult electoral environment for the party.