Top News

JD Vance Steps Up Midterm Campaigning as Ohio Republicans Face Tight Races/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Vice President JD Vance returns to his hometown to campaign at the steel plant where his grandfather worked for nearly four decades. The visit will promote the Trump administration’s manufacturing policies and support Republican candidates in competitive Ohio races. Vance is expected to increase his campaign travel ahead of the November midterm elections.

Quick Look

• Vance will speak at Cleveland-Cliffs Middletown Works.
• His grandfather worked at the plant for nearly 40 years.
• The facility was previously known as Armco Steel.
• Energy Secretary Chris Wright will join Vance.
• Vance will promote Trump’s manufacturing and economic policies.
• He called the visit “personally very meaningful.”
• The plant featured prominently in Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
• Trump and Vance won about 62% of Middletown’s vote in 2024.
• Republican Sen. Jon Husted faces Democrat Sherrod Brown.
• Data center opposition has become a liability for Husted.
• Vivek Ramaswamy faces Democrat Amy Acton for governor.
• Vance plans to campaign in Maine on Monday.
• The Ohio appearance is his first public visit since the birth of his fourth child.

Deep Look

Vance returns to hometown steel plant

Vice President JD Vance returns to Middletown, Ohio, on Friday to campaign for Republican candidates at the steel plant where his grandfather worked.

Vance speaks at the Cleveland-Cliffs Middletown Works facility.

The plant was known as Armco Steel when his grandfather, James Vance, worked there for nearly 40 years.

The appearance gives Vance an opportunity to emphasize his family’s working-class background while promoting Republican candidates ahead of the November elections.

Vice president expands midterm travel

Vance has highlighted his Rust Belt upbringing as he campaigns for Republican candidates and promotes the Trump administration’s economic agenda.

He is expected to increase his schedule of public events and political fundraisers ahead of the midterms, according to a person familiar with the plans.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the schedule publicly.

The administration has sought to present its economic policies as essential to preserving and expanding American manufacturing.

Vance calls visit personally significant

He attributed the continued operation of steel plants to Trump administration policies.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to join him at the event.

Vance also said he plans to visit Cincinnati chili restaurants during the trip.

Steel plant transformed Vance family’s life

Vance wrote extensively about the Middletown steel mill in his bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”

He described the plant as an economic lifeline that helped lift his grandparents from the hills of Kentucky into the American middle class.

His grandfather, known within the family as Papaw, took pride in the steel produced at the facility.

According to Vance, his grandfather would point to older Ford and Chevrolet vehicles and boast that their steel came from his company.

Some residents objected to book’s portrayal

Vance’s election as vice president generated pride in Middletownbut his portrayal of the community has also faced criticism.

In his memoir, Vance said children used the term “Middletucky” to mock the city because of the large number of residents whose families had moved from Kentucky.

He wrote that some transplants brought social problems with them, including addiction, poor dental health and absent or troubled fathers.

Some local residents have pushed back against what they consider an overly negative depiction of their city.

Vance’s mother, Beverly Aikins, and his sister continue to live in Middletown.

Ohio has shifted toward Republicans

Trump and Vance won approximately 62% of the vote in Middletown’s precincts during the 2024 presidential election.

Ohio was once considered one of the country’s most important political bellwethers, regularly supporting the presidential winner.

The state has moved firmly toward Republicans during the Trump era.

Democrats, however, believe anti-Trump sentiment may give them an opportunity to capture the governorship and a U.S. Senate seat this year.

Husted faces challenge from Sherrod Brown

Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to fill Vance’s former Senate seat, is seeking to retain it in November.

His Democratic opponent is former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who has spent years cultivating a pro-working-class political identity.

Brown lost his Senate reelection campaign to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024.

He is now attempting a political comeback in a race that could affect control of the Senate.

Data centers create vulnerability for Husted

Brown has used growing public opposition to data center development against Husted.

Residents have expressed concerns that large AI facilities could increase electricity costs, strain water supplies and receive excessive tax breaks.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee warned this week that the backlash has made Husted vulnerable.

Ramaswamy competes for governorship

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Vance ally, is the Republican nominee for Ohio governor.

He faces Democratic nominee Amy Acton.

Democrats have not won an Ohio gubernatorial election in two decades, making Acton’s campaign another test of whether the political environment has shifted ahead of the midterms.

First appearance since birth of fourth child

The Middletown event will be Vance’s first public visit since the birth of his fourth child in July.

His family maintains a residence in Cincinnati, where they occasionally spend weekends.

As Vance expands his campaign activityhis office has also announced a trip to Brewer, Maine, on Monday.

There, former Republican Gov. Paul LePage is running against Democratic state Auditor Matt Dunlap in a competitive U.S. House district.

More on US News