Donald Trump has joined the Republican campaign in Ohio with a rally in Vandalia, a suburb of Dayton. The visit is part of the president's announced 32-day campaign ahead of the US midterm elections, scheduled for November 3. Before Ohio, Trump visited Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.
The main focus in Ohio is the Senate race between Republican Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown. Husted took the senatorial seat on January 21, 2025, after J.D. Vance became vice president. Brown represented the state in the Senate for three terms but lost the 2024 election to Republican Bernie Moreno.
“Nobody expected Trump to campaign“, the president said at the start of the rally, which was held in a local school gym. According to the Associated Press, the visit is aimed at supporting not only Husted but also other Republican candidates in hotly contested races for the House of Representatives and the governorship.
The economy and job cuts are a major issue
Trump is trying to convince voters that the economy is in better shape than public sentiment suggests. The high cost of living, including fuel prices, remains a major issue in the Dayton area.
Just days before the rally, nearly 1,400 people were laid off at a truck factory in nearby Springfield. The Associated Press estimated the layoffs have wiped out about a year of job growth in the Dayton area. Trump's visit comes amid discontent with the administration's economic policies and concerns about the rising cost of living.
Data centers become a contentious issue
Sherrod Brown's campaign has attacked Husted for his support for building data centers in Ohio while he was lieutenant governor. The complexes serve artificial intelligence projects, but have drawn opposition over their expected electricity and water consumption, as well as the use of farmland.
Brown and his allies have also questioned donations to Husted from billionaire Leslie Wexner. In the late 1980s, Wexner hired Jeffrey Epstein as his financial manager. Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting minors for prostitution and committed suicide in a New York prison in 2019 after being charged with new charges of trafficking minors for sexual exploitation.
Republicans fear that Husted’s campaign is failing to generate enough enthusiasm in a state that has moved to the right in recent years. Democrats identify Ohio as one of the key states in their attempt to regain control of the Senate.
Sources: BTA