Trump Confirms Return to Salina for Sunday Rally in Tight Senate Race
The president will speak at the Salina Regional Airport after a one-day cancellation, joining a crowded field of national surrogates supporting Roger Marshall.
By Julian Reed ·
President Donald Trump will return to Kansas this Sunday to address supporters in Salina, reversing a decision made just twenty-four hours earlier. The rescheduled event is the latest move in a high-stakes effort to secure the U.S. Senate seat for Republican incumbent Roger Marshall, who is locked in a narrow contest with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton.
Staff at the Salina Regional Airport confirmed that the rally is now set for 2 p.m. Sunday in the airport’s 509 hangar. Kasey Windhorst, the airport’s business and communications manager, noted that the specific time for doors to open to the public remains undecided. She said the airport was only given a general window for the new event time.
The original plan called for the president to visit the Salina airport on Saturday morning. That stop was part of a demanding travel itinerary that included a trip to Daytona, Florida, on Friday and Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday. On Thursday, the Republican National Committee announced that both the Iowa and Kansas in-person events were canceled. The RNC statement said that because Republicans were in a strong position in both states, the rallies would be replaced by a slate of tele-rallies.
Discussions regarding the reversal began late Thursday night and continued into early Friday morning. By Friday morning, airport officials confirmed the event was back on the schedule. This will be Trump’s second visit to the state in recent weeks. Vice President JD Vance also made two trips to Kansas during the same period to support Marshall.
The campaign hopes the president’s presence will energize the Republican base. At his previous event in Park City, Trump appealed directly to voters. “In this election, I'm asking you to pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot,” he said. “Just pretend.”
Hamilton responded to the news of the Sunday visit with a statement of his own. “The President is always welcome in Kansas,” Hamilton said. “I hope he takes the time to meet with Kansans who are being hurt by the policies coming out of Washington.”
A recent CNN poll indicates that Hamilton currently leads Marshall in the race, though the two candidates remain within the margin of error.
Source: KCUR 89.3
