Des Moines, Iowa – Des Moines, Iowa (AFP) Vice President J.D. Vance He heads to Iowa on Tuesday, in his first visit since taking office to the state where there are Republicans In less than two years They will cast primary votes to choose their party’s next presidential nominee.
Vance, who is seen as One of the strongest potential candidates for the Republican Party For president in 2028, he is making the trip to campaign on behalf of Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, who He faces a competitive race To keep his seat in the Des Moines area November midterm elections.
The Vice President, a former US Senator representing the state of Ohio, left Washington accompanied by his son Vivek. He will first stop in Cincinnati to vote in the Ohio primary, then he will appear in Oklahoma City to hold a fundraiser in his capacity as CFO of the Republican National Committee.
But the visit to Iowa provides Vance with an opportunity to test his reception with Iowa voters, who… Leading caucuses Giving them a big role in determining the next presidential nominee. Campaigning for a local congressman in his role as vice president gives him a window of opportunity to make an impression on Iowa Republicans, savvy evaluators of those seeking the nation’s highest office before the campaign even begins in earnest.
Vance’s appearance comes days after Texas Senator Ted CruzHe, who is also considered a potential 2028 candidate, spoke to a group of evangelical Christians who are influential in the Iowa GOP contest.
Jimmy Centers, a Des Moines-based Republican political consultant, said the 2028 contest is still “light years away,” but he said Republicans who hear Vance speak Tuesday will be assessing how he fares in the White House race.
“I certainly think, as of right now, that Vice President Vance is likely to be the poll winner among Iowa Republicans in 2028,” Centers said. “But I don’t think anyone is saying, ‘We’re not going to consider anyone else.’”
Vance, who has not announced whether he will run for president in 2028, is scheduled to appear with Nunn at a manufacturing facility in Des Moines. His office did not comment on the impact of the trip on Vance’s political future.
The Vice President’s visit comes A trip by President Donald Trump in January to promote the administration’s tax cuts, part of a series of stops they are making this year Economic issues Before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
But Vance’s visit comes at a time when his political prospects – and the message he is expected to deliver on the economy – have been complicated by… War in Iran.
The vice president, who has long been skeptical of foreign military interventions, appeared A reluctant defender of the war that has been going on for 9 weekswhich Trump struggled to find a way out of. Iowans, like much of the rest of the country, are having a hard time Gas prices rise Because of the conflict. But the state’s farmers are also feeling the pinch High fertilizer costs From the war and was affected by the tariffs imposed by Trump.
While Iowa farmers have steadfastly supported the president, they are looking to the White House for assurances that the current unrest will not continue.
Vance’s visit to Iowa was originally scheduled for last week, but the timing changed because the House moved to pass a comprehensive farm bill that Nunn was scheduled to vote on.
The vice president was also scheduled to appear last week at an event at Iowa State University Turning point USABut the organization said it was unable to reschedule the event with the university until the fall.
Kim Schmidt, a longtime operative in the Iowa Republican Party, said the presidential cycle is starting out “deceptively slow.”
Republican figures testing the waters often visit the Westside Conservative Club, which Schmidt hosts, but he said it’s still a long way from the caucuses, which are typically held in January of a presidential election year.
He said Trump’s “Make America Great Again” political movement is “very much alive and kicking around here” in Iowa, which will benefit Vance — as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also believed to be so. Potential candidate.
“I think there will be a lot of support for MAGA,” he said. “Vice President Vance and Marco Rubio seem to be on the receiving end of where this is going right now.”
But Schmidt cautioned: “It’s a very early stage in the process.”
On the Democratic side, at least six presidential candidates have made visits to states holding their first presidential primaries, including recent visits to Iowa by a former transportation secretary. Pete Buttigieg And the US Senator from Michigan. Elissa Slotkin.
Meanwhile, GOP strategist Alex Conant, who worked on Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign, said potential Republican presidential nominees are “moving too lightly.”
“I think Republicans will be very reluctant to stand in Trump’s way until Trump gives the green light to start the campaign,” Conant said.
This means that much of the groundwork of meeting donors or activists or recruiting political staff may be done slowly and subtly — for now.
After the midterm elections? “It’s going to be irresistible,” Conant said.
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Prices reported from Washington.