DUBUQUE, Iowa—President Donald Trump rounded out a multi-week campaign blitz with back-to-back rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Nov. 1 after the events were briefly scrapped.
Trump headlined more than two dozen rallies across the country through October to boost voter support and turnout for Republican candidates in key states, in a bid to help his party keep control of the House and Senate.
At his first rally on Nov. 1 at the Five Flags Center, Trump invited Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) to join the Republican Party hours after she endorsed GOP candidate Mike Rogers for Michigan’s Senate seat over Democratic candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who defeated her in the primary.
“She was very brave in doing it,” Trump said of Stevens. “So I don’t know Haley, I’ve never met Haley, but Haley said what few people are willing to say. I’d love her to join the Republican Party. Actually, I think that could happen.”
During his speech, which lasted about two hours, the president congratulated the Iowa Hawkeyes on their Halloween win over Wisconsin and then predicted, “We’re going to have a much bigger win on Tuesday.”
Iowa has a series of tight contests, including open races for governor and the U.S. Senate and for two of the state’s four U.S. House districts, three of which are competitive.
Trump repeatedly endorsed U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), who is running for an open U.S. Senate seat in a close race against Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek and Libertarian Thomas Laehn.
The Cook Political Report ranks the race as a toss-up.
President Donald Trump spoke at a rally with approximately 5,000 attendees inside the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa, on Nov. 1, 2026. (Jacki Thrapp/The Epoch Times)
“I have been to the areas where they claim that this race is over,” Johnson said. “It is not over. Tuesday is when we decide. The mainstream media—the corrupt media, there’s a lot of corruption out there—are using fake polls, and they are trying to create this narrative that this race is over. It is on.
“We are going to turn out for the sake of Iowa, for the sake of America, for the sake of freedom.”
Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) arrives to speak during a campaign rally at the Five Flags Event Center in Dubuque, Iowa, on Nov. 1, 2026. (Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)
In 2026, almost 20 percent more absentee ballots have been submitted this election cycle than in the 2022 midterm election, according to the Iowa secretary of state’s office.
Three days before the election, the secretary of state’s office reported that 202,569 ballots came from registered Democrats, 149,340 from registered Republicans, and 84,205 from no-party voters.
A handful of people, including 68-year-old Trump supporter Lyn Richardson, camped overnight next to the security tent outside of the Five Flags Center in order to get a front-row seat at Trump’s final tour stop on Nov. 1.
Lyn Richardson, pictured on the right in a blue jacket, camped next to the security tent on Halloween to get a front row to see President Donald Trump speak at Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa, on Nov. 1, 2026. (Jacki Thrapp/The Epoch Times)
Richardson, a retired accountant from the Philippines who said she immigrated to the United States legally in the 1980s, drove about four hours from Springfield, Illinois, to meet a friend and be among the first people in line for the rally.
The Illinois voter said she has supported Trump since he announced his first bid for president in 2015 and was emotional while speaking about how grateful she is to be an American. She thanked Trump for his border policies and for helping reduce taxes on Social Security with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Trump spoke at his second rally at Salina Regional Airport in Kansas at about 8:30 p.m. CT.
The Nov. 1 rally was the 30th and last rally of the president’s cross-country blitz.
“I’m closing it down tonight; this is it,” Trump said. “I had to come here to make sure Roger got elected. I had to do it.”
Trump voiced his support for incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who is running for reelection against Democrat Adam Hamilton and Libertarian David Graham.
The Cook Political Report changed its rating of the seat from leaning Republican to a toss-up on Oct. 6.
The president also endorsed Kansas state Senate President Ty Masterson for governor. Polls show him with a small led over Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher and independent candidates Sharilyn Ray and Mark Lane.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated which congressional races in Iowa were open. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
