Vice President JD Vance crisscrossed the country Tuesday in a packed campaign swing aimed at energizing Republicans and boosting vulnerable GOP candidates ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
The 41-year-old vice president traveled to Ohio, Oklahoma and Iowa in a single day, making appearances focused on fundraising, voter turnout and rallying support for Republican candidates in competitive races. Joining him throughout the trip was his 6-year-old son, Vivek, who drew attention and laughs from supporters at several stops.
Vance began the day before sunrise in his home state of Ohio, where he cast his ballot in the Republican primary at a Maronite Catholic church near his Cincinnati home. Speaking briefly with reporters afterward, Vance endorsed biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio’s gubernatorial race and backed appointed Sen. Jon Husted, who is seeking to retain the Senate seat Vance previously held.
“Jon’s going to do a great job. He’s a good guy, and he’s been good for Ohio,” Vance said.
The vice president’s son also became a small attraction at the polling station after filling out a mock children’s ballot and voting for the Easter Bunny while chatting excitedly about hamsters and Ferris wheels.
After Ohio, Vance traveled to Oklahoma City for a closed-door fundraiser that reportedly brought in roughly $2 million for Republican campaign efforts. Vance currently serves as finance chair of the Republican National Committee, and his appearance underscored how heavily the GOP is leaning on him to help expand fundraising efforts ahead of November.
The final stop of the day brought Vance to Iowa, where he headlined a rally for Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican congressman facing a competitive reelection battle in a swing district that could help determine control of the House.
Addressing roughly 500 supporters at a manufacturing facility in Des Moines, Vance framed the upcoming election as a broader referendum on government priorities and economic policy.
“The fundamental question for us in this election is actually not any specific question of public policy,” Vance told the crowd. “It’s fundamentally: Do you want people in Washington, DC, who fight for you, who fight for the people of this district, or who fight on corruption and fraud?”
Throughout the speech, Vance repeatedly criticized Democrats over immigration, government spending and fraud prevention. He also praised President Trump’s economic agenda, including protectionist trade policies, tax cuts and support for domestic manufacturing and agriculture.
“It’s not rocket science,” Vance said. “It’s a simple principle that if you have a government that fights for you, it can make your life easier.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who introduced Vance at the Iowa event, also highlighted the vice president’s leadership role on the Trump administration’s anti-fraud task force.
Vance later told the audience he continues to receive regular reports from the task force that leave him “shocked” by what investigators are uncovering.
The vice president also addressed foreign policy and military sacrifice during his Iowa stop after meeting with families who lost loved ones in combat operations tied to Iran and Syria.
“Every time a person gives the ultimate sacrifice to the United States of America, we often read about it as a line on a newspaper or online, but there’s a father, there’s a mother, and there’s a grandma, aunts and uncles and a whole crew of people who love them,” Vance said.
At one point, he admitted he would be “so terrified” if his own young son eventually joined the military.
Tuesday’s aggressive campaign swing reflected the White House’s strategy of treating the midterms almost like a presidential campaign year, with Trump’s political agenda largely dependent on Republican success in Congress over the next two years.
Vance, widely viewed as the heir apparent to Trump’s populist political movement, has increasingly become one of the administration’s top political messengers as Republicans look to maintain momentum heading into the fall election season.
