US Vice President JD Vance holds midterm election rally in Ohio hometown

The vice president’s speech hinged heavily on economic themes, as voter confidence slips for Republican policies. For the first time since becoming vice president of the United States, JD Vance has returned to his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, with a goal of rallying Republican voters ahead of November’s pivotal midterm elections. Vance delivered Friday’s speech at a symbolic location: the steel plant where his late grandfather once worked. He used the appearance to tout a $1bn investment from the steel manufacturer Cleveland-Cliffs that was supported by $500m in government awards. That funding, he said, illustrated his party’s commitment to the manufacturing sector and reinvigorating the US economy overall. “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy – or it’s all going to happen overnight – but in just 18 months, we have seen an explosion of rebuilding in the American heartland,” Vance said, crediting the growth to policies under President Donald Trump.

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