The president cancelled the events in favor of tele-rallies, as Republicans face a fight to retain control of Congress

Donald Trump cancelled, and then promptly uncancelled, two in-person rallies in Kansas and Iowa this weekend as polls suggest US midterm election races in the previous Republican strongholds could go down to the wire.

On Thursday, just five days before election day, the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced the president would no longer host the Kansas and Iowa rallies and instead participate in “a large number of tele-rallies”. The RNC claimed it felt it was in a “strong position” in Kansas and Iowa.

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© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Republican candidates in marquee Senate races have welcomed Thune's help as he's traveled around the country in the weeks before the midterm elections, scrambling to save his majority.

Democrats are targeting G.O.P. strongholds that could set them up for new majorities. But if they don’t win those races now, it could be a long time before they have another chance.

© Clayton Steward for The New York Times

Hope, dread and the final stretch to Election Day.

© The New York Times

It's been more than a decade since Iowa has had a Democratic governor or senator. But this year, with the incumbents retiring, both races are competitive. As Peter Tubbs at Iowa PBS reports, record-high diesel prices have hit the state's agriculture industry particularly hard and could influence the midterm elections.

On Thursday, Hinson will join President Donald Trump for a rally in Sioux City, which is in Iowa's conservative northwest corner. The visit to safe territory is geared toward boosting turnout even as it ties her more tightly to an unpopular president.

Democrats and aligned advocacy groups are hitting the airwaves with a flood of campaign ads on the Iran war as they seek to win back in the House and Senate.

Economic concerns such as tariffs and rising gas prices may give Democrats an opening in November's midterms. But rural voters remain skeptical of large-scale support for Democrats.