Trump Heads to Kansas to Back Embattled Senator Marshall

US President Donald Trump will attend a campaign rally in the state of Kansas today, 19 October. Republican Senator Roger Marshall, who is seeking to keep his seat, is in an unexpectedly tight contest with Democrat Adam Hamilton ahead of the 3 November midterm elections, which will shape the balance of power in Washington.

According to The Guardian, Marshall's support may be eroding because of a scandal over medical billing, though he is still favored to win. Hamilton is the founder of the largest Methodist congregation in the United States. He won this year's Democratic primary, which had 11 candidates, with 35% of the vote. His campaign says it broke a quarterly fundraising record in the state, and two major election forecasters say the race has become more competitive. Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, and more than half a century has passed since a Democratic nominee came close.

Other developments

Trump wrote on Truth Social that restoration work on a historic public golf course in Washington DC will begin next month, even though a federal judge ordered his plans paused over environmental and historic preservation concerns.

Lawyers for Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar have asked the Department of Justice to return property that federal agents took from her home during a search, calling the seizure neither justified nor lawful. The investigation began only weeks before the elections. Former President Barack Obama condemned remarks by an administration official that Omar could be stripped of her citizenship.

Ukraine

Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that the US had paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Washington for resuming the sharing, but said Kyiv received no warning before a Russian missile attack on its power plants.