Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, returned to his hometown of Middletown this afternoon for his first rally after being named former President Donald Trump's running mate.
The visit comes one day after President Joe Biden announced he is dropping out of the presidential race and supporting Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.
More: JD Vance blasts Democrats for throwing Biden 'overboard' at hometown rally
"It is so good to be back home for once," Vance said. "It's good to be here."
Vance started speaking around 2 p.m. and spoke for about 40 minutes.
"I will never forget where I came from. I came from Middletown, Ohio, and I'm proud of it," he said.
JD Vance rally in Middletown: Photos from Monday's event
During his hometown speech Vance praised his "Mamaw" Bonnie Vance who died in 2005.
"She was tough and she was disciplined and she's the reason I've had so many opportunities in my life," Vance said.
Vance graduated from Middletown High School in 2003. He then went to Ohio State University. He joked about the hometown audience being filled with relatives.
“If you count fourth and fifth cousins, half of you are probably related to me at this point," Vance said.
When the crowd at Monday's rally started chanting OH-IO, Vance calmed them down.
"I can't give the state of Michigan any reason to vote against the Trump-Vance ticket," Vance said.
Vance talked about President Biden dropping out of the race Sunday and backing Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.
“I thought I was gonna get to debate Kamala, now President Trump gets to, I’m kinda pissed about that,”
Here's the latest news on Vance and today's events:
JD Vance's mom at rally: 'I'm very proud of JD'
As hundreds of people began to funnel into a Middletown High School auditorium for Vance's rally, his mother, Beverly Aikins , sat in the front row. Wearing a green-and-white pinstripe shirt and black-rimmed glasses, she beamed when talking about her son.
"It's surreal," Aikins said of attending a political rally in Middletown , where she still lives, for her son.
'It's surreal': JD Vance's mom attends his Middletown rally
State Sen. George Lang says civil war may be needed if Democrats win
Vance's hometown state senator said at his rally Monday that if Republicans don't win the 2024 election it could lead to a civil war to "save the country."
The comments came from Ohio state Sen. George Lang, R-West Chester, right after he took the stage at Vance's first solo rally in Middletown and chanted, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"If it comes down to a civil war... we are the last stand to save it," he said at a Middletown High School auditorium, less than an hour before Vance was set to take the stage. The crowd cheered in response. Vance graduated from the high school in 2003.
Lang represents Butler County which includes Middletown.
Republican state lawmakers praise Vance at rally
Lang, R-West Chester, said the GOP is focused on electing Trump and Vance in November.
“Right now the Democratic Party is clearly in disarray. The Democratic Party is focused on saving their party. Our party is focused on saving America,” Lang said at the rally. “The contrast between him (Vance) and Trump couldn’t be greater. Trump grew up in wealth, JD grew up in poverty. Trump went to the best high school money could buy. JD walked these halls where we are today. But JD had something Trump didn’t — he had a Mamaw.”
Ohio state Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Township, called Vance’s nomination “probably one of the most exciting things in Middletown history.”
Hall represents part of Middletown and Butler County in the Ohio House.“With JD it’s a new age of leadership. He’s young, like me, and I think his vision for America matches President Trump’s vision, and I think that’s why he picked him.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear slams JD Vance
One day after President Joe Biden announced he is stepping down from the 2024 presidential race, and proceeded to endorse Harris as the Democratic Party's new nominee, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to discuss the path forward for him and his fellow Democrats. Beshear is mentioned as a possible running mate for Harris.
"I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is and what they look like," he said. "Because let me just tell you that JD Vance ain't from here."
Vance's Appalachian roots have been a point of contention , as the Ohio senator offered a critical view of the region in his 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy." Vance spent time with extended family in Jackson, Kentucky, over the years but spent much of his childhood in Middletown, Ohio.
"The nerve that he has to call the people of Kentucky, of Eastern Kentucky, 'lazy,' " Beshear continued. "Listen, these are the hardworking coal miners that powered the Industrial Revolution, that created the strongest middle class the world has ever seen, that powered us through two world wars. We should be thanking them. Not calling them lazy."
-- David Wysong, The Enquirer
Senate candidate Bernie Moreno calls on Biden to resign
Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno told a group of reporters at the Vance rally that President Biden should resign.
“This is about cognitive ability. He should resign. He should not be president of the United States. It’s not about age. We all age differently. It’s about cognitive ability.”
Moreno is running against U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, in a race that could decide control of the Senate.
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Congressman Davidson says he identifies with Vance's life story
U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Troy, said he connected with Vance's story in his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy.
“When I got to know JD and I read his book it resonated with a lot of people like me. My dad’s dad was a coal miner and he died of black lung when he was in high school," Davidson said before Vance's rally. "They came up in the 50s much like JD’s family did for jobs on the west side of Ohio. It resonates with a lot of people.”
Davidson represents Ohio's 8th District which includes Middletown and Butler County.
Supporters are lining up for JD Vance hometown rally
Supporters started lining up early for Vance's speech at Middletown High School today. Vance graduated from Middletown in 2003 before going to Ohio State University and Yale Law School.
Dustin Lamb of Springboro has been waiting in line for nearly two hours. He said the line, so far, has moved only 35 feet, though he is unbothered.“I’d wait here 8 hours. Maybe 2 days if Trump were here,” Lamb said.
Tim Denver, 59, from Manchester, Ohio, drive 71 miles to be first in line at 7 am.
“I want to hear his story first hand,” Dever said of Vance.
Dever has been to 12 Trump rallies and said he finds motivation in hearing the candidates in person. Although, he added, “It’s the first time I’ve been first in line.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'It is so good to be back home': JD Vance returns to Middletown
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