Trump confronts a new midterm battleground: South Carolina
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Trump → confront → battleground
WASHINGTON, Oct 29 - President Donald Trump will stage a campaign rally in South Carolina for the second time in two weeks on Thursday, as new polls show the Senate race between incumbent Republican Darline Graham and Democratic challenger Annie Andrews is a toss-up.
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race → stage → Graham
With control of Congress at stake in Tuesday's midterm elections, some Republicans are beginning to fret that their traditional stronghold of South Carolina has become a battleground state.
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stronghold → begin → Carolina
The race is part of a trend that shows contests in Republican-leaning states now tilting toward Democrats in the campaign's final days, in part because of Trump’s low ratings in opinion polls.
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contests → show → polls
Republicans are fighting to retain Senate seats in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina and Maine to maintain their six-seat Senate majority.
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Republicans → fight → majority
Polls show Democrats leading in each of those states.
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Democrats → show → states
Polls and independent analysts favor the Democrats to retake control of the House, while Senate control is considered too close to call.
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control → favor → House
A Democratic victory could place limits on Trump and usher in congressional investigations of his administration over its final two years.
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victory → place → years
South Carolina hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since Fritz Hollings, who was first elected in 1966 and served until 2005.
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who → send → 2005
Trump has also rallied in recent days in Mississippi, where the campaign between Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom has tightened.
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campaign → rally → Smith
Colom would be the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction, a tenuous period of the 19th century immediately following the Civil War.
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Colom → follow → War
Republican political operatives have also grown concerned over the Nebraska Senate race between Republican Senator Pete Ricketts and independent candidate Dan Osborn.
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operatives → grow → Ricketts
In South Carolina, Andrews and Graham are competing for a seat once held by Graham's brother, Senator Lindsey Graham, who was one of Trump’s foremost Republican allies and died suddenly in July.
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who → compete → July
He long counted his sister as his foremost political adviser, though polls suggest her stumbles on the campaign trail appear to have hurt her standing.
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stumbles → count → standing
Former South Carolina elected officials have also backed Andrews in recent days.
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officials → elect → days
Two former governors, Republican David Beasley and Democrat Jim Hodges, endorsed Andrews in a television advertisement.
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governors → endorse → advertisement
Former Republican Governor Nikki Haley, a Trump appointee during the president’s first term who challenged him for the White House in 2024, has not endorsed either candidate.
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who → challenge → candidate
Responding to criticism of her campaign as unpolished, Graham said she was not a career politician and does not "speak politician."
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she → respond → politician
Graham's campaign has said endorsements from political figures mattered less than support from voters and from Trump.
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endorsements → say → Trump
Trump and Republicans’ focus in South Carolina and other traditional conservative strongholds has consequences far beyond those states, campaign officials say.
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officials → have → states
Republicans had opportunities to challenge Democrats in Michigan and Georgia in the midterms, and also had hopes of picking off another seat in Minnesota.
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Republicans → have → Minnesota
But defending turf in the South has forced Republicans to divert vital resources away from those races - and sent Trump on a frenetic nationwide campaign tour through 19 states since the start of October.
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defending → defend → October
He has rallies planned in Florida, Kansas and Iowa in the final days before the Tuesday vote.
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rallies → have → vote
The Aporia
