President Trump is set to rally Republicans in West Virginia and Tennessee over the coming week ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
Trump’s campaign announced the president would hold an event on Saturday in Wheeling, W.Va., and another next Monday in Johnson City, Tenn.
The GOP is hoping to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in November given Trump won West Virginia by almost 42 percentage points in 2016. Manchin is being challenged by Republican Patrick Morrisey, the state’s attorney general. Manchin, however, has a 9 percentage point lead over Morrisey, according to RealClearPolitics’ poll aggregator.
Trump’s visit to Tennessee coincides with Rep. Marsha Blackburn, the Republican candidate for the Senate seat about to be vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Bob Corker, finding herself in a dead heat against Democratic contender Phil Bredesen in RealClearPolitics’ poll aggregator. Bredesen once served as the state’s governor.
Democrats need a net gain of two seats in the Senate to flip the chamber in their favor, a development that could present problems for Trump in the second half of his term in office.
