By Nandita Bose and Bo Erickson
WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will travel on Friday to central Wisconsin where his Republican Party hopes to hold on to a congressional seat in this year's midterm elections.
The stop in Chippewa Falls highlights the Wisconsin seat's crucial role in Republicans' strategy to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, as the party faces political headwinds with voters frustrated by higher costs of living amid the United States'
conflict with Iran.
The president on Wednesday said that progress in negotiations with Iran could come within the next few days, but hope for a resolution has come and gone several times since the conflict began more than three months ago.
The district's incumbent, Representative Derrick Van Orden, is closely aligned with the president and touts the Trump administration's focus on rural America as a benefit.
But Van Orden won reelection in 2024 by less than three points, making him a top target for national Democrats who hope to flip the slim 217-212 Republican House majority.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump vowed to cut inflation, but prices have risen following Trump's sweeping tariffs enacted last year and the Iran war's effect on energy prices.
U.S. consumer sentiment dropped to a record low in May, as disrupted shipping in the Middle East caused a surge in gas prices. Wisconsin's average gas price of $4.04 per gallon this week is $1.08 higher than a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.
The political implications of energy costs do not create more pressure to reach a peace deal with Iran, Trump said recently.
"They thought they were going to outwait me," Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting last week, referring to Iran's leadership. "You know, 'We'll outwait him. He's got the midterms.' I don't care about the midterms."
Trump's Wisconsin trip is at least the fourth visit to this district by top administration officials in the last year, following visits by Vice President JD Vance in August and February, and a stop by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this week.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson; Editing by Sergio Non and Cynthia Osterman)
