The Radical Reading Room

With less than a week before the Nov. 3 midterms, President Donald Trump is returning to Ohio on Wednesday for the third time in a month as Republicans seek to keep control of Congress. Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to campaign for Democrats in Georgia. The reports describe Trump focusing on states he won handily two years ago, as Americans face an unpopular war in Iran.

Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to campaign in North Carolina, where Republicans have been pessimistic about retaining a Senate seat. Republican Michael Whatley, a former national party chair, is running against Democrat Roy Cooper, a former governor, to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. The reports place the contest among the races shaping the closing stretch of the campaign.

Obama is set to appear in Georgia with former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, and Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for reelection. Bottoms is seeking to become the first Black woman elected governor in the United States. The planned appearances add the former president to the campaign effort for Georgia Democrats as Election Day approaches.

Trump’s campaign also plans stops in South Carolina, Florida, Kansas and Iowa in the coming days. In Ohio, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is running for governor, while Sen. Jon Husted hopes to serve the remainder of Vance’s term; former Sen. Sherrod Brown is the Democratic nominee. The reports characterize Trump’s late campaign travel as reflecting a defensive posture by Republicans, whose party finances and super PAC MAGA Inc. have helped sustain candidates.