ELECTION/RALLY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In rally after rally, President Donald Trump exhorts throngs of red-hatted supporters to treat next week’s congressional elections as a referendum on Trumpism and the grass-roots movement that swept him to power…The plea speaks to the challenge facing the president and his supporters: With Democrats threatening to take over the House of Representatives and key governors’ offices, the success of his legislative agenda over the next two years hinges on whether he can energize his backers around candidates who are not named Trump. This year’s election is the first real test of whether the coalition behind Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan can evolve from a diffuse, personality-driven following to an organized political force able to boost candidates outside his electoral strongholds.”
–Reuters Staff, “Trump Supporters’ Election Test: a Movement or a Moment,” The New York Times online, November 2, 2018