President Donald Trump arrived in Nebraska on Monday to advance his Republican midterm rescue mission, signing an executive order to relax restrictions on the tax-free use of red-dyed diesel. Trump stated the move would save “millions” for farmers and reduce the cost of goods, with only four weeks remaining until the election.
Addressing GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts, who faces an independent challenger backed by national Democrats, and Gov. Jim Pillen, who is seeking re-election, Trump remarked, “Pete and Jim, this should absolutely ensure your election, I guarantee you that.”
Diesel prices surged following the Iran war, unsettling voters and pressing Republicans. Fuel intended for off-road applications like agriculture is exempt from federal and state excise taxes and dyed red for law enforcement identification, according to a White House fact sheet. Temporarily lifting the usage limits aims to ease cost pressures on diesel-dependent businesses.
“The typical trucker will save more than $100 every time they fill up,” Trump said, signing the order on stage before a crowd in Grand Island, a conservative area in south-central Nebraska. He reiterated that the order would save farmers millions and lower goods costs.
Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy, which tracks national fuel prices, noted last week that such an order might benefit on-road users but not farmers, who already utilize red-dyed diesel. “Taxes aren’t the problem, supply is,” De Haan wrote on X.
The Nebraska visit is part of a 32-day rally blitz Trump says he is running before Nov. 3, including recent stops in Oklahoma and Alabama. His next scheduled stop is a rally in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday.
Ricketts, a former state governor, was appointed and later elected to fill the seat left by Sen. Ben Sasse when he moved to the University of Florida in 2023. Now seeking his first full six-year term, Ricketts faces independent Dan Osborn in a race that was not initially expected to be competitive but has since drawn national attention.
Voters nationwide are expressing frustration with Trump’s economic management, including high fuel and grocery costs. This is particularly sensitive for rural voters who have supported the president and his party in recent elections.
The administration’s plan to permit more foreign beef imports has especially troubled agriculture-heavy Nebraska. While Trump aims to lower beef prices for consumers, ranchers have pushed back, arguing the proposal would undercut them.
“The plan to import low-quality foreign beef is not helping Nebraska ranchers,” Ricketts told the Associated Press. “I 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.”
Rally attendees in Grand Island expressed trust that Trump could resolve the high cost of living. “I feel like if we get our reserves built back up, get this situation in Iran taken care of, our gas prices will go down. The economy as far as groceries and stuff like that, it’s going to go down too. It’ll stabilize. I have faith in him. More faith in him than I ever had in any other president,” said Marlene Abel from Garfield, Kansas.
David Kuncl, a Lincoln, Nebraska resident who grew up on a farm, said he was confident things would improve long-term but insisted Trump wasn’t at fault. Kuncl pointed instead to what he believes is “a coup, a plot to try to hurt Trump” and Republicans in the midterms.
“It’s hurting us. Gas prices. Diesel prices. Beef prices,” Kuncl said. “I don’t know why they’re high. But it’s not that Trump’s got anything to do with that. He’ll do what he can. But of course he can’t wave a magic wand and make it go lower.”
In the House, the Grand Island area is represented by Republican Rep. Adrian Smith, whose seat is not expected to be competitive.
However, Nebraska holds a competitive House race farther east in Omaha’s 2nd District — known as the state’s “blue dot” — to fill the open seat of retiring Rep. Don Bacon. Republican Brinker Harding faces Democrat Denise Powell.
Monday’s rally occurred as the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC supporting Republican House candidates, cancelled $1.1 million in planned broadcast spending for the GOP candidate in that race, according to AdImpact. It was seen as a possible signal that GOP leaders believe the funds could be better utilized elsewhere. The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There are tentative plans for Trump to visit additional battlegrounds, including Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Kansas, Montana, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Nevada, and Arizona before Election Day, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity due to authorization restrictions.
Osborn, a former labor union chief, challenged Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024 and lost by seven percentage points. Despite support from national Democrats, he has declined to state what party he would caucus with if elected in November.
Other Senate independents, including Maine’s Angus King and Vermont’s Bernie Sanders, caucus with Democrats for organizational and committee purposes.
With the Democratic brand deeply unpopular in conservative states, Osborn is not the only declared independent running for the Senate against Republicans this year. In South Dakota, Brian Bengs is campaigning as an independent against Republican Sen. Mike Rounds. Bengs ran as a Democrat four years ago and was defeated by now-Senate Majority Leader John Thune. A similar dynamic exists in Idaho, where independent Todd Achilles is challenging GOP Sen. Jim Risch.
Nebraska Democratic voters chose Cindy Burbank as their nominee, but she campaigned on ensuring no votes would be siphoned from Osborn in the general election and has since withdrawn.
Osborn has toured all 93 counties of Nebraska, holding meetings and repeatedly criticizing Ricketts for not holding town halls with constituents.
Ricketts, whose family founded TD Ameritrade and owns the Chicago Cubs, served as governor from 2015 to 2023.
As Trump traveled to Nebraska, Vice President JD Vance went to Fairbanks to rally with Republican candidates, including Sen. Dan Sullivan. Sullivan is in a contest with Democrat Mary Peltola, one of a handful of races expected to decide control of the chamber in November.
Vance praised Sullivan before a crowd at the airport, describing the two-term senator as known for texting Cabinet members in the middle of the night to advocate for Alaska interests.
Vance portrayed Peltola, who served in the House from late 2022 and lost reelection in 2024, as ineffective and called her a “servant of the far left.” Peltola has sought to distance herself from national Democrats, emphasizing she does what is best for the state. Alaska Democrats described Vance’s visit as an act of desperation.
Sullivan was in the Oval Office last week when Trump announced South Korea planned to invest about $54 billion in an Alaska natural gas project, though South Korean officials remained cautious, stating they needed to assess commercial viability before committing.
Vance also expressed support for Rep. Nick Begich, whom he called a “machine” and a hard worker. Begich, first elected in 2024, faces independent Bill Hill, a commercial fisherman and former educator, as his main competitor.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)