Vice President JD Vance is headlining a midterm rally at Allen County Regional Airport in Lima on Friday, the latest stop in a Republican campaign blitz across Ohio that comes as fresh polling shows Democrats with leads in the state's Senate, governor's and generic congressional races. Gates open at 11 a.m., the event begins at 12:15 p.m., and Vance is scheduled to speak at 1:40 p.m.
The Lima stop, at 700 Airport Drive, is open to the public, with members of the public able to claim up to four tickets for the event, according to limaohio.com. It is not Vance's first visit to his home state's northwest corner this election cycle — he previously spoke at a sold-out event in Lima on June 24, 2025, at Veterans Memorial Civic Center, and before that in February 2022 at an event at the Howard Johnson on Roschman Avenue, the outlet reports.
A Packed Ohio Campaign Calendar
Friday's rally is one of three Ohio appearances by Vance or President Donald Trump happening in roughly a week and a half. Trump appeared at a rally in Vandalia, near Dayton, last Saturday, and is scheduled to head to Youngstown on Oct. 12. That Youngstown stop is set for the Covelli Centre, according to the Tribune Chronicle.
The Vandalia rally also drew Ohio Sens. Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno along with gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, per limaohio.com's reporting. Vance, an Ohio native and Cincinnati Republican who became Trump's vice president after serving in the Senate seat now at stake, has spent recent weeks boosting GOP candidates and criticizing Democratic opponents as extremists at campaign events, according to Cleveland.com. The outlet reports he has made stops in Florida, Texas, Alaska, Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina and Kansas in recent weeks as part of a broader effort to energize Republican voters nationally.
Two Marquee Races On The Ballot
Ohio has two high-profile races on this year's ballot: a Senate contest between Republican incumbent Jon Husted and former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown for the final two years of the term Vance vacated, and a governor's race pitting Republican Vivek Ramaswamy against Democrat Amy Acton to replace term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine, per Cleveland.com's reporting.
New survey data suggests both races are tilting toward Democrats. A Marist Poll conducted Sept. 24 through Sept. 27 among 1,298 Ohio registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, found Brown leading Husted 51% to 43% and Acton leading Ramaswamy 50% to 44%, according to Marist Poll. The same poll found Democratic candidates ahead 50% to 47% on the state's generic congressional ballot.
Trump's Approval Numbers Weigh On The Map
Trump's job approval rating among Ohio registered voters stood at 42%, with 56% disapproving, the Marist Poll found. A plurality of Ohio voters, 41%, said their congressional vote was mainly a vote against the president, according to the same survey. Cleveland.com's reporting notes Trump's sagging approval numbers as Republicans work to avoid heavy losses in both chambers of Congress and hold on to the House and Senate.
Data centers have also emerged as an unexpected flashpoint in the Husted-Brown contest, with Politico describing the issue as one thats been drowning out the airwaves and quickly defining the race. An August memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee reportedly described data center opposition as the anchor hanging around Husted's neck, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
Early Voting Already Underway
Ohio's Election Day is Nov. 3, and early in-person and mail-in voting began Oct. 6, per the Ohio Capital Journal's reporting. The Ohio Secretary of State's office said Oct. 5 was the registration deadline for the general election, with early in-person and absentee voting opening the following day. The Lima and Youngstown rallies land squarely in that early-voting window, as Republicans send top-ticket figures into the state in hopes of energizing voters before ballots are finalized.
