President Trump rallied Republicans in Northern Kentucky on Saturday, 17 days before the midterms, and made Kentucky voters an offer: a $100 million federal investment in a drug plant, if they deliver him a Republican Congress.
"You have to win, Andy," he told Senate nominee Andy Barr. "Otherwise forget it."
The rally
Trump spoke for about 90 minutes at Truist Arena at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, LEX18 reported. He campaigned for Barr, for House nominee Ed Gallrein, and for Ohio Republicans, framing the election as a referendum on his second-term agenda and warning that Democrats would try to undo his policies if they win the House or Senate, Fox News reported.
A small group protested outside. Inside, a protester interrupted Trump as he introduced Gallrein, drawing boos and chants of "USA" before he carried on.
The $100 million
Trump said his administration would invest $100 million to help revitalise a drug manufacturing facility in Winchester, east of Lexington, and tied the project to a Republican win in November, according to LEX18, FOX19 and Fox News.
The White House has not released details of the investment, which agency would make it, or how it would work.
The Senate race
Barr, who represents the Lexington-based 6th District in the House, is running for the seat Mitch McConnell is leaving. His Democratic opponent is Charles Booker, a former state representative who narrowly lost the 2020 Democratic Senate primary.
Barr told the crowd he and Trump had "saved hardworking taxpayers over $1.1 trillion in waste, fraud and abuse," and blamed Iran for higher gas prices, FOX19 reported.
Trump turned on Booker, calling him "a radical." "How the hell can you lose to this guy?" he said. "I'll tell you what, if you lose to him, you are unelectable."
Booker answered in a statement after the rally. "Frankly, I'm flattered by his baseless attacks on me," he said. The attacks show that "he and everyone else knows how close this race is, and they're scared." He told FOX19 the visit was "the consummate example that the race is tight."
Kentucky has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992. Booker's campaign has released polling it says shows the race within reach; Barr's has released polling it says shows him well ahead. Independent public polling has been limited.
Gallrein, and the Massie fight
Gallrein is the Republican nominee in Kentucky's 4th District because Trump wanted him there. A former Navy SEAL whose family runs a farm in the district, he was recruited to challenge Rep. Thomas Massie, who had broken with Trump on his tax law, the release of the Epstein files and the Iran war. Trump called Massie "a terrible congressman from day one."
Gallrein beat Massie in the May 19 primary, which cost more than $32 million, the most expensive House primary on record, according to the Washington Examiner.
What to watch
The Winchester promise. Whether the White House puts the $100 million in writing, and whether it depends on the election result as Trump said.
Kentucky's Senate polls. Whether independent polling shows the race tightening, as Booker says, or holding, as Barr says.
Turnout in Northern Kentucky, where both the Senate race and Gallrein's House race are being fought on November 3.
Published Sunday, October 18, 2026. Rally quotes are from LEX18, FOX19 and Fox News reporting. The White House has not released details of the proposed Winchester investment.
