As Election Week arrives in America, political campaigns across the country are making their final moves to secure remaining voters, according to a report by Roll Call. While millions of ballots have already been cast in states with robust early and mail-in voting structures, party leaders and candidates spent the final weekend crisscrossing battleground states to marshal last-minute turnout.
Presidential Closing Arguments and Toss-Up Battlegrounds
President Donald Trump used the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as the striking backdrop for his midterm closing argument, telling reporters on Sunday that he wanted to showcase how beautiful it is.
Alongside his address, Trump planned a series of tele-rallies while wrapping up a whirlwind of in-person campaign stops.
On Sunday, Trump campaigned directly in Iowa and Kansas. Both states host competitive Senate contests rated as Toss-ups by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. In Iowa, Republican Representative Ashley Hinson is vying to capture the Senate seat left vacant by retiring Joni Ernst. Hinson faces Democratic State Representative Josh Turek, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist.
Meanwhile, in Kansas, Roger Marshall fights to defend his seat against Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton. According to congressional trackers, the remaining Senate Toss-up races are concentrated in Alaska and Maine, both currently held by Republicans. Notably, the 2026 cycle features no Toss-up or Republican-leaning Senate contests where the incumbent senator is a Democrat.
House Contests and Leadership Travel Schedules
Iowa remains a critical battleground for control of the House of Representatives, with multiple high-stakes districts capturing national attention. Two Iowa Republican incumbents, Representatives Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, landed on CQ Roll Call’s definitive end-of-cycle list of the chamber’s most vulnerable members.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spent Sunday campaigning alongside Trump in Iowa. Johnson has consistently dismissed polling that favors Democrats heading into the midterms. Reflecting on the president’s grueling schedule, Johnson remarked, I work almost as hard as this guy. I try to keep up with him, he doesn’t sleep at all.
Johnson’s final campaign itinerary includes an Election Eve rally in Virginia Beach alongside Republican Representative Jen Kiggans. From there, the Speaker heads to Texas to kick off Election Day with an early morning event alongside Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz, GOP candidates Eric Flores—who is challenging Democratic Representative Vicente Gonzalez—and candidate Tano Tijerina, who seeks to oust Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar.
Michigan Mayhem and Democratic Party Friction
The most unexpected development of the final weekend unfolded in Michigan. Democratic Representative Haley Stevens abruptly announced her endorsement of, and appeared alongside, former Republican Representative Mike Rogers, the GOP Senate nominee.
Stevens had previously competed in the Democratic primary for the Senate and was originally anticipated to campaign with the Democratic nominee, Abdul El-Sayed. Instead, her sudden pivot left national Democrats reeling.
As you may have seen, our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away. And he’s right. And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers. — Rep. Haley Stevens
The announcement drew swift and harsh condemnation from party leadership. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., labeled Stevens’s endorsement a despicable betrayal.
Behind the scenes, Schumer convened an emergency call with Senate Democrats on Sunday to formulate a unified response to potential challenges regarding midterm results.
If Trump and his allies attempt to interfere with the will of the voters, Senate Democrats are prepared to fight back immediately and aggressively, on Election Day and for as long as it takes to ensure the results are respected,
a Senate Democratic aide stated.