President Donald Trump is tentatively planning a rally in deep-red Alabama next week, even as Democrats signal they may spend money in Kansas and other Republican strongholds they once considered out of reach.
Politico reported that the rally is penciled in for Oct. 2 in Mobile, and two people with direct knowledge of the preparations said the plans have not been finalized and could change. The outlet called a trip to Alabama one month before the election "a somewhat confounding decision" for a president whose party is playing defense in several states he won easily, and Democrats are not considered to have a real shot at any statewide office in Alabama.
The White House and the Republican National Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The visit could help state Rep. Rhett Marques, a Republican in a somewhat competitive House race against Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures. Earlier this year the Supreme Court let Alabama use a map that redrew Figures' majority-Black district, and Marques is still seen as the favorite. Mobile, however, is not in that district.
The rally would come a week after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a $2.5 billion federal loan for the Mobile River Bridge, the largest infrastructure project in Alabama history.
Trump also has close allies on the state ballot – Rep. Barry Moore is running for Senate and Sen. Tommy Tuberville is the Republican nominee for governor against Democratic former Sen. Doug Jones, whom he unseated in 2020.
Last week, Trump campaigned with GOP Senate nominee Michael Whatley in battleground North Carolina.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats' main super PAC says it is weighing whether to spend in even redder territory.
"There's some good arguments out in not just Kansas, in four or five other places, and we're not just watching — we're thinking about ways we might get involved if they stay earnestly competitive," JB Poersch, president of Senate Majority PAC, told Politico on Thursday.
Poersch also suggested the group could get involved in Texas. Late Thursday, Texas Forever, a new super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority PAC, registered with the Federal Election Commission.
Democrats need to gain four seats for a majority. Even if they hold Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire and flip Maine and North Carolina, they would still need two wins among Iowa, Ohio, Alaska and Texas, all states Trump carried by double digits in 2024. Republicans are outspending Democrats on the airwaves in every one of those races except Georgia.
"Fundraising continues to be really good. The bad guys have a lot of money. But we still feel like we have options in terms of making choices," Poersch said.
He argued that Republicans lack a unifying message and are losing moderates and GOP-leaning independents quickly.
"Trump's job is turnout," Poersch said. "They need to find one in the next five weeks."
