STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
An NPR team is reporting from Georgia today, which has a big Senate race and a governor's race. President Trump campaigned here last Friday and returns this weekend.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The president's travel schedule says something about the party's desperation. The Republican is trailing in Georgia, and Trump is even campaigning in red states, such as Kansas, Iowa and Florida. Now, two weeks before Election Day, both parties are now deciding which races to cut loose and where to push all-in.
INSKEEP: NPR's Stephen Fowler is with us here in Atlanta. Stephen, you brought your NPR sweatshirt. Nice fashion statement. I like that. Good morning.
STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Good morning.
INSKEEP: Good to talk with you. And I know you're going to be traveling to some of the states we just mentioned. What do the president's travel plans tell us about the state of play?
FOWLER: On paper, this is not really where the leader of the Republican Party should be spending his time and energy. Kansas hasn't elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century, and yet polls suggest it's possible. There's a trip to a conservative corner of Iowa. That's a state where Democrats could flip the governor's office, three of four House seats and the Senate seat because of how unpopular Republicans are.
INSKEEP: Wow.
FOWLER: Trump is visiting North Carolina as many Republican outside groups have basically gone dark on the airwaves because the Senate race is viewed as a lost cause. So in many ways, it's rallying the troops to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic.
INSKEEP: Well, we're in Georgia, which was supposed to be a marquee Senate race, and now it's not so competitive.
FOWLER: Nope. And that's because of Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff. He raised well over $100 million this cycle. He raised his profile with a very strong anti-corruption tack in the campaign message. And his poll numbers have risen, too, thanks to crossover support from some Republicans.
However, there is still a competitive governor's race here. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is in a toss-up race with billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson. He's funneled over $100 million of his own money to try and beat back the rising tide of Republican unpopularity. And also in Georgia, demographically, you have basically every major group that swung towards President Trump in 2024 - young people, Latino voters, people who don't show up to vote very much - now they're swinging back.
INSKEEP: OK. So President Trump's travel schedule tells us something. Then there's the money - where money goes and where money is drawn back. What does that tell us about the party priorities?
FOWLER: For Republicans, it looks like there's more of a priority to save their Senate majority than the House. That's where more money is. And Democrats are seizing on openings in very conservative places. Over the last three weeks, data shows Republicans have doubled, tripled, even quadrupled their investment in places like the Senate race in Kansas and Mississippi...
INSKEEP: Mississippi. Wow.
FOWLER: ...Deep-red House districts in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Kentucky. And they've pulled back at the same time from the Georgia, North Carolina Senate races and one-time toss-up races in Iowa, Ohio and Nebraska that are not as competitive anymore. Meanwhile, the Democrats have a long list of flip targets that have actually been accompanied by millions of dollars in spending, too, leading Republicans to scramble and respond in places like Arkansas.
INSKEEP: So as we've been going around the Atlanta area the last couple of days, we've been seeing people going to the early polling sites, early voting. What can you read into the early voting numbers across the country?
FOWLER: What we're seeing right now is that Democrats appear to be changing how they vote away from mail-in ballots to in-person early voting or Election Day. It's also going to be notable to see where else Trump goes in his final days. And with more than a million people already voting here in Georgia so far, I am watching what appears to be higher-than-usual Black turnout in Georgia and other key races across the South.
INSKEEP: NPR's Stephen Fowler. Thanks for the insights.
FOWLER: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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