WASHINGTON – Vice President JD Vance will return to Iowa this week, making his second visit to the state this year as he works to bolster Republican congressional candidates while building momentum for his own political future.
Vance is scheduled to headline a Friday midterm rally in Council Bluffs, a western Iowa city near the Missouri River. The appearance comes as Iowa, long regarded as a Republican stronghold, faces increasingly competitive contests for the U.S. Senate and governor’s office.
Council Bluffs is home to Josh Turek, the Democratic Senate nominee who currently represents the area in the Iowa Statehouse.
Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, Turek’s opponent in the Senate race, will miss Friday’s event because of previously scheduled commitments, her campaign said.
Zach Lahn, the Republican nominee for governor, is expected to attend. Lahn is locked in a competitive campaign against Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand, one of the party’s most prominent recruits this election cycle.
The trip marks Vance’s first Iowa campaign stop since May, when he appeared with Rep. Zach Nunn, among the GOP’s most vulnerable House incumbents. Nunn and fellow Iowa Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted this week for a symbolic measure aimed at stopping the war in Iran, highlighting the political strain the military conflict launched by President Donald Trump has created within his own party.
During his May visit, held at a steel manufacturing plant, Vance promoted the administration’s tax and tariff agenda and argued that voters were facing an unusual political moment. “This is not a normal election,” he said, adding that it was “not a normal political environment.”
Vance has emerged as one of the administration’s most active midterm surrogates, traveling to states including Kansas, Wisconsin and his native Ohio to campaign for Republican hopefuls and champion the White House’s record.
Friday’s Council Bluffs rally will take place in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra’s unsuccessful run for governor has left an open House seat. Democrat Dave Dawson and Republican Chris McGowan are competing to succeed him.
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Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report from Des Moines, Iowa.
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