Vance brings son to cast his vote in Ohio primaries, tries to woo Iowa GOP voters

Vice President JD Vance arrived in Iowa on Tuesday, marking his inaugural visit to the state since assuming office, a crucial stop for Republicans who will cast the initial votes for their party’s next presidential nominee in less than two years.

Vance, widely considered one of the Republican Party’s most formidable potential candidates for the 2028 presidential election, is in Iowa to campaign for Republican Representative Zach Nunn. Nunn faces a highly competitive race to retain his Des Moines-area seat in the upcoming November midterm elections.

The vice president, an Ohio senator before taking his current role, departed Washington accompanied by his son, Vivek. His itinerary included a stop in Cincinnati to cast his vote in Ohio's primary elections, followed by an appearance in Oklahoma City to host a fundraiser in his capacity as finance chair of the Republican National Committee.

However, the Iowa visit offers Vance a significant opportunity to gauge his appeal among the state’s voters, whose leadoff caucuses grant them an outsized influence in shaping the presidential nomination process. Campaigning for a local congressman as the sitting vice president provides an early platform to make an impression on Iowa Republicans, who are seasoned evaluators of those aspiring to the nation’s highest office, long before the campaign officially begins.

open image in gallery

Vance’s appearance comes just days after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, another figure speculated as a potential 2028 candidate, addressed an influential group of evangelical Christians in Iowa’s GOP landscape.

Jimmy Centers, a Republican political consultant based in Des Moines, acknowledged that the 2028 contest is "light-years away." Nevertheless, he noted that Republicans attending Vance’s event on Tuesday would be assessing his potential suitability for a White House bid.

"I certainly think, as of right now, Vice President Vance would probably be a straw-poll winner of Iowa Republicans for 2028. But I don’t think anyone is saying, ‘We won’t consider anybody else,’" Centers stated.

Vance’s visit coincides with Iowans grappling with elevated prices for gas and fertilizer. The vice president, who has not publicly declared his intentions for a 2028 presidential run, is scheduled to appear with Nunn at a manufacturing facility in Des Moines. His office declined to comment on the trip's implications for his political future.

This visit follows a trip by President Donald Trump in January, where he promoted the administration’s tax cuts. Both leaders are making a series of stops this year to discuss economic issues ahead of the midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.

Yet, Vance’s visit arrives at a time when his own political prospects – and the economic message he is expected to deliver – have been complicated by the ongoing conflict in Iran.

open image in gallery

The vice president, historically skeptical of foreign military interventions, has appeared to be a reluctant defender of the nine-week-old war, for which President Trump has struggled to find a resolution. Iowans, like many across the country, are contending with higher gas prices due to the conflict. Furthermore, the state’s farmers are feeling the strain of increased fertilizer costs stemming from the war and have been impacted by tariffs imposed by President Trump.

While Iowa’s farmers have consistently supported President Trump, they have been seeking assurances from the White House that the current economic difficulties will be temporary.

Vance’s trip to Iowa was initially slated for the previous week, but the timing was adjusted due to the House’s movement to pass a comprehensive farm bill, on which Nunn was scheduled to vote.

The vice president had also been scheduled to appear last week at an Iowa State University event with Turning Point USA, but the organization reported that it was unable to reschedule the event with the university until the fall.

Kim Schmett, a veteran Iowa GOP activist, described the presidential cycle as starting "deceptively slow."

Republican figures exploring a presidential run often visit the Westside Conservative Club, which Schmett hosts. However, he emphasized that it remains too far from the caucuses, typically held in January of the presidential election year.

He noted that President Trump’s Make America Great Again political movement "is very alive and going here" in Iowa, a factor that would benefit Vance, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also considered a potential candidate.

"I think there’s going to be a lot of MAGA support," Schmett said. "And Vice President Vance and Marco Rubio seem to be the recipients of where that is going at the moment."

However, Schmett cautioned, "it’s awfully, awfully early in the process."

On the Democratic side, at least half a dozen presidential hopefuls have been visiting states with the earliest presidential primary contests, including recent trips to Iowa by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin.

Meanwhile, potential Republican presidential candidates "are treading very lightly," according to GOP strategist Alex Conant, who worked on Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign.

"I think Republicans are going to be very reluctant to get in Trump’s way until Trump gives the green light for the campaign to start," Conant said.

This suggests that much of the groundwork – meeting with donors or activists, or recruiting political staffers – might proceed slowly and subtly for now.

After the midterms? Conant predicted: "It’ll be irresistible."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies