CONGRESS/ELECTIONS/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is deepening his investment in the midterm elections, stepping up his travel across the country to raise money and rally Republicans in hopes of overcoming the tide of history by retaining control of Congress in the fall. Nearly every president in modern history has lost congressional seats during their first midterm election, a fact that Trump has told advisers he doesn’t believe necessarily applies to him. The top priority for the White House is holding the Republican majority in the Senate, which is critical for preserving the agenda and making judicial appointments for the remainder of the President’s first term. Trump is heading here to Texas on Thursday [5-31-18] to do what party leaders say is the best way he can help: Raising money. He is set to mingle with GOP donors behind closed doors at a Houston luncheon, where the contributions range from $5,000 per person to $100,000 per couple, which allows a picture with the President…He is also set to hold a fundraising dinner on Thursday evening in Dallas to benefit his campaign and the Republican National Committee. Those events have raised the eyebrows of some party loyalists, who believe Republicans should focus on 2018 before his re-election in 2020. Trump filed his re-election papers at the time of his inauguration, more than two years earlier than his two recent predecessors. President Barack Obama didn’t file for re-election until April 2011 and President George W. Bush until May 2003 — both of which were after the first midterm elections of their presidency.”
-Jeff Zeleny, Sarah Westwood and Pamela Brown, “Unprecedented? Trump aims to defy midterm campaign history,” CNNPolitics, CNN.com, May 31, 2018