Topline
Former President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he will hold an Ohio rally for Republican Senate nominee J.D. Vance, whose flagging campaign momentum against Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan has top Republicans worried.
J.D. Vance (R) tells it like he thinks it is during a rally hosted by former President Donald Trump … [+]
Key Facts
Trump will hold the rally for Vance and “the entire Ohio Trump Ticket” on September 17 in Youngstown, part of Ryan’s home district.
This will be the second post-primary rally from the former president—he held an event featuring Pennsylvania Republican Senate nominee Mehmet Oz on Saturday, whose campaign woes are also of major concern to Republican leaders.
Vance leads Ryan by just 3.7 percentage points, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average—well below the 8 points Trump carried the state by in the 2020 presidential election, though polling before that election significantly underestimated Trump’s margin of victory.
Ryan is dominating Vance in fundraising—the Democrat’s campaign said it raised $9.1 million during the second quarter, while Vance only reported $2.3 million in that period.
Key Background
Vance has come under increasing criticism lately for making very few public appearances, while Ryan has been working the campaign trail hard, pitching himself as a moderate populist that can appeal to Trump voters. Ryan has said he’s a Democrat willing to break with President Joe Biden and party leaders, telling NBC News this summer that “Democrats aren’t right about everything,” even though his House votes have reportedly aligned with Biden’s positions 100% of the time. Republicans have grown so concerned about the race, though, that a super PAC connected with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced last month it plans to flood $28 million into Ohio to boost Vance’s chances. Putting such a massive investment in a state Republicans have dominated in recent years is emblematic of growing GOP pessimism around the midterms.
Tangent
Republicans earlier this year were widely expecting a red wave in November that would hand the party control of the House and Senate, but a series of unexpected wins by Biden this summer and the unpopular Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade have been setbacks for the GOP. Democrats are now the betting favorites to keep control of the Senate.
Surprising Fact
McConnell voiced concerns at an event last month about the “candidate quality” of Republican Senate nominees. He didn’t single out anyone, but pundits have noted that several GOP candidates—including Vance, Oz and Georgia nominee Herschel Walker—have never before run for elected office.
Further Reading
Tim Ryan’s GOP-friendly campaign unsettles Republicans in Ohio (NBC News)
Biden’s Approval Rating Surges After Series Of Unexpected Wins (Forbes)
Trump Plans Penn. Rally For Struggling Oz And Rest Of His ‘Ticket’ (Forbes)
Roe V. Wade Overturned: The Ultimate Explainer On What It Means (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/09/06/trump-announces-ohio-rally-for-struggling-vance/