Republicans Rally Voters as Economic Confidence Slips

For the first time since becoming U.S. Vice President, JD Vance returned to his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, aiming to rally Republican voters ahead of the critical November midterm elections.

Vance's remarks on Friday took place at a symbolic location: the steel mill where his late grandfather once worked. He highlighted a $1 billion investment from steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs, supported by $500 million in government backing, as evidence of the Republican Party's commitment to manufacturing and reviving the U.S. economy.

“I’m not saying it’s easy — or that everything will happen overnight — but in just 18 months, we’ve seen a rebuilding boom in America’s heartland,” Vance said, crediting the growth to President Donald Trump's policies.

The speech came at a pivotal time for Republicans and Trump himself. The November midterms will determine whether the GOP retains control of both chambers of Congress. Losing the majority could allow Democrats to obstruct Trump's legislative agenda in his final two years or even pursue impeachment, as Trump has himself noted.

Polls show the economy remains the top issue heading into the midterms. However, voter assessments of each party's ability to handle economic challenges have shifted. Before Trump began his second term, Pew Research Center found voters favored Republican economic policies. But by July, the landscape had reversed: 37% of respondents backed the Democratic approach, compared with 36% for Republicans.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month also showed slightly more support for Democratic economic policies than Republican ones, reversing a trend dating to 2017. Trump, for his part, has publicly dismissed concerns over living costs, calling affordability worries a “hoax” manufactured by Democrats.

In Middletown, Vance took a different approach, seeking to ease concerns about the administration's economic management. “We have a lot of work to do, but we are making progress on the things that matter most,” he said, citing efforts to make homeownership more attainable.

Ohio, part of the once-manufacturing-heavy Rust Belt, has trended increasingly conservative since Trump's first victory in 2016. But amid growing discontent with Republican leadership, Democrats see an opportunity to reclaim the governorship and the Senate seat vacated when Vance became vice president. The winner of November's special election will serve the remainder of the Senate term, which runs through 2028.

Senator Jon Husted, the Republican candidate in that race, joined Vance on stage at the Middletown rally. Husted was appointed to Vance's Senate seat until the special election. Vance devoted part of his speech to attacking Husted's opponent, former Senator Sherrod Brown, who lost his re-election bid two years ago to Republican Bernie Moreno.

Vance accused Brown of being among politicians who “pretend to be friends of the workers at this facility” while actually pursuing their own priorities. “It’s hard to understand what these modern Democrats truly stand for,” Vance said, describing the party as having strayed from its ideals. He pointed to Brown's past support for former President Joe Biden, who defeated Trump in the 2020 election.

“[Brown] claims to represent this state but has never once spoken out about Joe Biden’s border crisis or the inflation caused by Joe Biden when he failed to invest properly and tried to destroy American industry,” Vance added.

At the rally, Vance also referenced Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate candidate, repeating a false claim that El-Sayed has called for “sharia law” in the U.S. “I wish I could go back in time and tell my grandfather that there’s someone claiming to stand with workers, saying we should not only have sharia law but that criticizing it makes you a white supremacist,” Vance said of El-Sayed.

According to this month’s Reuters-Ipsos poll, Trump's approval rating stands at 35%.