Trump Looking to Best Obama’s Travel for Midterms

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is preparing to embark on an aggressive campaign schedule this fall to boost Republican candidates on the ballot in 2018.

Trump is aiming to spend more than 40 days on the campaign trail between Labor Day and the Nov. 6 midterms, as he hopes to best his predecessors' travel schedules, two White House officials. The officials said Trump wants to be on the road for Republicans more than President Barack Obama was for Democrats in 2010 — when his party suffered what Obama called a "shellacking" — and beyond what President George W. Bush did in 2002.

The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the internal schedule publicly.

The Republican Party is defending its majorities in the House and Senate, facing headwinds from retirements and an energized Democratic opposition.

White House officials believe Trump can be best utilized on the trail to boost Republican enthusiasm ahead of the elections by holding campaign rallies in key states. He is also attending fundraisers for GOP candidates and various Republican groups.

Trump is traveling to West Virginia Tuesday where he is set to promote Republican Patrick Morrisey's candidacy for Senate. That race is one of the GOP's prime pick-up opportunities.