Vice President J.D. Vance urged Iowa voters to stay in the GOP column this midterm season, saying Democrats can’t be trusted to safeguard farmland, cut taxes and secure the U.S. border.
Mr. Vance, speaking in Council Bluffs on Friday, said the Trump administration is making real progress in making life better for Iowans. He pointed to tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill and large Chinese soybean purchases.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thanks to what we’re doing, farmers finally have a fighter in Washington, D.C., for them instead of against them,” Mr. Vance said at the Mid-America Center rally.
Farmers and other Americans are struggling with high prices tied in part to President Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war.
Democrats are highlighting those concerns as they seek a net gain of three seats to retake the House and four seats to win the Senate majority.
Forecasters believe Democrats have a good chance of seizing the House, while the Senate may be a long shot, given this cycle’s map.
Democratic candidates are neck and neck with Republicans in key Iowa races despite the state’s rightward turn in recent years.
Iowa has two Republican senators in Washington, and Mr. Trump won the state in 2016, 2020 and 2024 after President Barack Obama took it in 2008 and 2012.
Mr. Vance on Friday gave a shout-out to Iowa’s federal and state candidates and touted their bona fides as pro-family and great defenders of Iowans’ needs, particularly among farmers.
Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican who said she couldn’t attend the Vance event because of a prior engagement, is in a tight race for the Senate with Democrat Josh Turek, a state House member and wheelchair basketball player.
The Real Clear Polling Average has Ms. Hinson up 1% on Mr. Turek, though individual surveys vary widely.
The pair are running to replace retiring GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.
Mr. Vance also urged rally-goers to vote for Republican Chris McGowan over Democrat Dave Dawson in the 4th Congressional District.
Zach Lahn, the Republican nominee for governor, attended the rally. He’s squaring off against Democrat Rob Sand, the state auditor, in this year’s election.
“He is a man of conviction, and he’s a man who cannot be bought or told by anyone what to do,” Mr. Vance said of Mr. Lahn. “He’s not for sale to big business, he’s not for sale to Big Pharma and he’s certainly not for sale to the career politicians in Washington, D.C.”
Elsewhere in Iowa, Republican Rep. Zach Nunn faces a tough reelection battle against Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott.
Mr. Nunn and another Iowa Republican, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, voted Tuesday for a House resolution that would halt the Iran war unless Congress authorizes it.
They voted against similar measures in the past, underscoring growing weariness with a war that’s stretched beyond six months and has no clear endgame.
Mr. Trump’s war on Iran is a potential drag on GOP candidates because it caused energy shocks and higher gas prices.
The U.S. average price of gas stood at $4.47 per gallon on Friday, up from $3.20 a year ago and roughly $3 at the start of the war on Feb. 28, according to the AAA motor club.
Diesel hit an all-time high average of $6.45 per gallon. Freight transporters use diesel, so the elevated cost will trickle through the economy.
Some Republicans are frustrated that races are closer than expected.
“I’m going to Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa to help raise money and campaign for our very good candidates,” Sen. John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, told CNN. “If you told me six months ago I was gonna be having to spend my time in those three states, I wouldn’t have believed you. Those ought to be fat-guy layups for us.”
Mr. Kennedy said the GOP will win, but “the races are close.”
The vice president on Friday acknowledged there is work to do to bring down costs.
Meanwhile, he warned that Democrats are becoming too radical and obsessed with transgender issues and constantly bemoan “white privilege” instead of promoting American history.
“Let’s send the crazy packing,” he said, “and get them out of Washington, D.C.”
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.