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WASHINGTON — <\/span>WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> is taking his Republican midterm rescue mission to Nebraska on Monday, campaigning alongside GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts, who is running against an independent candidate backed by national Democrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump is headed to Grand Island, Nebraska, located in the solidly conservative south-central part of the state. It\u2019s part of what the Republican president says is a 32-day blitz of rallies ahead of Nov. 3 that so far has taken him to ruby-red territory such as Oklahoma<\/a> and Alabama<\/a>. On Wednesday, he’ll make his second stop in two weeks in Texas with a rally in San Antonio.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president\u2019s coming to Nebraska to help me campaign, so I can get reelected,\u201d Ricketts told the Associated Press last week on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n Ricketts, a former governor of the state, was appointed then later elected<\/a> to fill Sen. Ben Sasse\u2019s seat when he left to run the University of Florida in 2023. Now he is running for his first full six-year term against independent Dan Osborn \u2014 a race that initially was not expected to be competitive but is now being watched by the national parties.<\/p>\n Voters across the country are frustrated with Trump’s handling of the economy<\/a>, including persistently high costs for fuel<\/a> and groceries. It’s a major issue for rural voters<\/a> who have backed the president and his party in recent elections.<\/p>\n The administration\u2019s plan to allow more imports of foreign beef<\/a> has particularly roiled the agriculture-rich state of Nebraska. Trump wants to lower beef prices for consumers, but ranchers have rebelled against the import proposal, arguing it would undercut them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe plan to import low-quality foreign beef is not helping Nebraska ranchers,\u201d Ricketts told the AP. \u201cI would advise the White House to change that policy and look for longer-term things that will help us build the size of the herd and ultimately bring the price of beef down for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n In the House of Representatives, the Grand Island area is represented by Republican Rep. Adrian Smith, whose race is not expected to be close. But Nebraska has a competitive House race farther east in Omaha<\/a>, considered the \u201cblue dot\u201d of the state because the area\u2019s electoral vote in presidential elections often goes to Democrats.<\/p>\n Osborn, a former labor union chief, ran against Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024 and lost by 7 percentage points. Though national Democrats support him, he has refused to say what party he would caucus with should he be elected in November.<\/p>\n Other independents in the Senate, including Maine\u2019s Angus King on the moderate end and Vermont\u2019s Bernie Sanders on the left, caucus with Democrats for organizational purposes and committee assignments.<\/p>\n