WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to rally in Michigan next week as early in-person voting begins in the battleground state’s primary, where voters will choose nominees for open Senate and governor’s races.
The rally is set to take place in Oakland County on Monday, according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to discuss the event publicly.
Early in-person voting begins Saturday ahead of the Aug. 4 primary, when voters will also select nominees for U.S. House and other statewide offices. Republican Mike Rogers is unopposed in the Senate primary, while the GOP gubernatorial contest has intensified between Trump-backed U.S. Rep. John James and businessman Perry Johnson.
The visit will allow the president to take his messaging on the road as Republicans grow concerned about how rising gas prices and an unpopular war in Iran might affect their midterm chances. Republicans are defending slim majorities in the House and Senate.
Trump carried Michigan in 2016 and 2024, and both parties view the battleground state as central to the 2026 midterm elections.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Democrats are facing the most competitive race in the Aug. 4 primary, with U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed battling for the party's Senate nomination. The winner will face Rogers, who lost narrowly in 2024 to now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin.
Republicans have faced a bruising contest for the gubernatorial nomination, however, with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer term-limited. James has been endorsed by Trump, but Johnson has spent millions attacking James on television and digital advertising.
Johnson's campaign has already advertised a “Trump Tailgate” on Monday.
Oakland County, where Trump is set to appear, was long considered one of Michigan’s premier political bellwether counties. Democrats have steadily expanded their margins there even as Trump carried the state in 2016 and again in 2024.
Republicans saw 2026 as a chance to finally gain back power in a state that has been dominated by Democrats — outside of Trump's wins — over the past decade. But surging gas prices, an unpopular war in Iran and tariffs that have hit the state’s auto industry hard have all contributed to concerns about a worsening political environment for Michigan Republicans.
In May, a Democrat won a special election by almost 20 points in a state Senate district that Kamala Harris won by less than 1 point in 2024. The previous officeholder, a Democrat, carried the seat by 6 percentage points in 2022.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he exits Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after attending the World Cup final soccer match, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Kaylee Hottle, a deaf actor best known for her starring role in two “Godzilla” films, died in a car crash in Maryland early Tuesday morning, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office said. She was 18.
Hottle was one of two passengers in the car when it went off the road and hit a culvert in Ijamsville before 3 a.m. The driver was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the other passenger declined medical treatment, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. Excessive speed is believed to be a factor in the crash, which is under investigation, the sheriff's office said.
Hottle was a native signer of American Sign Language, and her family members are also deaf. Her parents, Joshua and Ketsi Hottle, shared emotional video statements about her death on social media sites.
“Kaylee’s mom and four siblings are crushed,” her father said in ASL in a post from an airport. “They are together at home, grieving. I am on my way to Maryland to bring Kaylee’s body back home.”
Hottle’s heart stopped before she arrived at a hospital, transported by air from the scene of the accident, her father said. “Very grateful for the 18 years we had together — and wish we had more,” he said.
Joshua Hottle also reached out to the driver, described by the sheriff's office as a 19-year-old Frederick man.
“I have forgiven you,” her father said. “Don’t let this incident ruin the rest of your life.”
“I still feel Kaylee is with us,” her mother said in ASL in a post.
In “Godzilla vs. Kong” and the sequel, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” Hottle played an orphaned girl named Jia who sees beyond Kong's threatening appearance and forms a special bond with the monster, communicating with him using sign language.
“I’m so devastated to hear this. You will be deeply missed Kaylee,” her “Godzilla” co-star Millie Bobby Brown posted on Instagram.
Co-star Alexander Skarsgård, who learned ASL to communicate with Hottle, told the pop culture website Junkee in 2021 that he and others were impressed by the young ingenue's professionalism and her ability to quickly incorporate the director's notes into her acting.
In a 2024 interview with The Associated Press, Hottle said through an interpreter that she hadn't watched monster movies before she was cast in “Godzilla,” so her father helped her understand the genre.
“I look up to a lot of people, but the one person I look up to, the few people I look up to mostly, are my parents and my sisters,” Hottle said.
Hottle said that when she was working on the first film, she was a bit concerned about whether she would be able to return to her “normal life," afterward.
“People do recognize me at school, yes, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be,” Hottle said.
Hottle previously appeared in a 2021 television episode of “Magnum P.I.” She was listed as appearing in the upcoming film “What Doesn’t Kill Us.”
“I’m so heartbroken. My heart goes out to her family during this unimaginable time,” Alaqua Cox, her co-star in that film and fellow deaf actor, wrote on Instagram.
Other prominent deaf actors also shared messages of grief online.
“I am absolutely gutted about the passing of sweet Kaylee Hottle. May her beauty and talent be a memory for eternity,” Oscar winner Marlee Matlin wrote on Instagram.
Fellow Oscar winner Troy Kotsur, who starred in the film “Coda,” wrote that Hottle's death made him think of his own daughter, and reminded him not to take time for granted.
“I have no words to express on what happened this morning,” Kotsur wrote, offering his “deepest condolences” to the Hottle family.
Officials with Texas School for the Deaf in Austin also announced Hottle's death on Facebook, writing that counseling and support services would be available to her classmates and friends.
FILE - Kaylee Hottle appears at the premiere of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," in Los Angeles on March 25, 2024. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Kaylee Hottle appears at the premiere of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," in Los Angeles on March 25, 2024. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
