Trump rarely visits Clinton districts for his midterm rallies
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Of the 34 midterm rallies President Trump has held or will hold by Oct. 31, only nine of them are in congressional districts that voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
Why it matters: It shows the main GOP strategy in the 2018 midterm elections: deploy the president to energize and encourage the party's base, and don't spend a lot of time trying to win converts.
At a rally in Southaven, Mississippi, earlier this month, Trump said: “I’m not on the ticket, but I am on the ticket ... Pretend I’m on the ballot.” That districted voted for Trump by 33 percentage points in the 2016 presidential elections.
What they're saying: “The President’s rallies are motivating voters who came out to vote specifically for him in 2016 to now come out again and vote for the entire Republican ticket," said Republican National Committee press secretary Cassie Smedile.
Go deeper: Trump is planning 10 midterms rallies in the week before the election
