President Trump set to campaign in Kansas during midterm push

President Donald Trump will head to Kansas a little over a week from Thursday in an effort to boost Kris Kobach and another Republican candidate in this year’s bitterly divided midterm elections.

Kobach, the Republican nominee for governor, and Trump’s campaign made the visit official in a statement Thursday. Trump plans to be in Topeka on Oct. 6 for a Make America Great Again rally at the Kansas Expocentre. The Saturday event is expected to start around 6:30 p.m.

It will be the president’s first visit to Kansas since reaching the White House in 2017. Trump’s visit is meant to rally support for Kobach, as well as Steve Watkins, the GOP nominee for Kansas’ 2nd congressional district. Watkins is in a close campaign against Democrat Paul Davis for a seat that could help decide control of the U.S. House.

“It has been a great privilege to work with President Trump’s administration as a transition team member and informal adviser, and I look forward to working with him closely when I am Governor of Kansas,” Kobach said in the statement.

Watkins also welcomed Trump’s visit.

“Regardless of your political stripes, it is always a true honor to have an opportunity to welcome the President of the United States to your hometown,” Watkins said in a statement.

Watkins did not vote in the 2016 election and was criticized by Trump’s campaign manager, Brad Parscale, ahead of the August primary for campaign mailers that featured Trump’s image despite the fact that the president had not made an endorsement in the primary.

Based on recent polling, Bob Beatty, a political scientist at Washburn University, said Kansas is polarized right now when it comes to Trump.

“This not a cost-free visit for Kobach and Watkins,” Beatty said. “But they’re gambling that it will be a net gain because they’ll get more of their base out, but certainly it has the potential to rile up people who are unhappy with Trump and get them out to vote as well.”

Rep. Kevin Yoder is also in a close race with Democrat Sharice Davids in the adjacent 3rd congressional district. Yoder’s campaign did not immediately say Thursday evening whether the Overland Park Republican planned to participate in the Topeka rally.

Kobach has been an ardent supporter of Trump’s, starting early within the 2016 election cycle. Since Trump was elected, Kobach has advised him on immigration matters and headed a since disbanded voter fraud panel.

Kobach has also defended and supported Trump’s incorrect claim that millions of illegal votes cost him the popular vote in the 2016 election.

Kobach is running against Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly and independent Greg Orman in the November election.

Trump’s campaign said in a statement that “The President is expected to discuss our booming economy that’s lifting up families across Kansas, and the critical importance of protecting and expanding the GOP majorities in the House and Senate.”

Candidates opposing Republican candidates in Kansas have taken different approaches to challenging Trump so far this cycle.

In the 2nd congressional district, Davis said earlier this year that he’s “not running for or against President Trump.”

His campaign said in a statement that they “hope he’ll go and meet with Kansas farmers who are being negatively impacted by his trade war while he’s here.”

In the governor’s race, Kelly and Orman have both been willing to criticize Trump.

On Thursday, Orman took the president to task for trade policies and tariffs he said “are hurting Kansas farmers.”

Kelly’s campaign avoided directly criticizing Trump after the visit was announced.

“While Kris Kobach is focused on Washington, Laura Kelly is focused on rebuilding Kansas, funding our schools and balancing the budget,” campaign spokeswoman Johanna Warshaw said in a statement.

This story was originally published September 27, 2018 at 4:19 PM.