MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance promised in his acceptance speech last week at the Republican National Convention that he would never forget his southwest Ohio roots.
Making good on that promise Monday, the U.S. senator held his first solo rally in his own Middletown High School between Dayton and Cincinnati.
The Butler County rally took place one day after the 2024 presidential election was turned on its head with President Biden's announcement that he was dropping his re-election bid and throwing his support to his vice president, Kamala Harris.
“I don't like Joe Biden, and I don't like his politics,” Mr. Vance told his hometown crowd. “I'm not a Democratic primary voter. I never have been. ... What is going on in this country is absolutely disgraceful.”
“If you want to run for president, you've got to make your case to voters,” he said. “That's what President Trump did. ... The idea of selecting the Democratic Party's nominee because George Soros and Barack Obama and elite Democrats got in a smoke-filled room and decided to throw Joe Biden overboard, that is not how it works.”
Unsure who will top the Democratic ticket or which vice presidential nominee he'll be expected to debate, Senator Vance wasted no time pivoting his messaging from President Biden to Vice President Harris.
“I was told I was going to debate Kamala Harris, and now I'm told President Trump is going to get to debate her,” Mr. Vance said.
The Trump-Vance campaign last week turned down an invitation to debate Ms. Harris, prophetically questioning at the time whether she would still be the vice presidential candidate by the time such a debate would come around.
Mr. Vance accused Ms. Harris of not expressing gratitude and appreciation in her speeches but rather from a point of condemnation.
“You deserve to be led by people who are grateful, who are grateful for the community that they came from, who are grateful for this country, its boundless opportunities, who are grateful for the service of our veterans, the people who put their lives on the line,” he said.
Noting the heat he has taken by embracing Trump after previously being highly critical of him, Mr. Vance noted that Ms. Harris was also critical of Mr. Biden, suggesting his past policies had been racist, when both were candidates for the Democratic nomination in 2020. Then she joined his ticket.
Mr. Vance's mother, Beverly Aikins, was in the crowd, as she was when her son accepted his nomination in Milwaukee. Her struggle with addiction was a significant part of his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, and the film that followed. She has been sober for 10 years.
“I got a great education at Middletown High School. I graduated in 2003,” he said. “... And there are great school teachers in public and private schools all across our country. But for some reason the federal Department of Education is trying to lean into indoctrination in our schools instead of teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. Let's get back to common sense.”
Some in the crowd were already looking ahead.
“2028 Vance for President,” read one sign.
“Let's not get ahead of ourselves,” Mr. Vance said. “We're going to win this race first.”
He reminisced about the school, his former math teacher who was in the crowd, and local hangouts. At times, the speech was part audience participation as the crowd shouted to him and he responded, including with an “O-H” to which he gave an “I-O.”
And then he again voiced caution as he did in Milwaukee, noting how important a battleground state Michigan will be this cycle.
Mr. Vance's first solo rally was more symbolic than anything else. Trump won Ohio by 8 percentage points in 2016 and 2020, and few believe the state has turned blue since then. A 2022 statewide GOP sweep took Mr. Vance to the U.S. Senate.
From his hometown rally, Mr. Vance was headed to Virginia, a state Mr. Biden carried by 10 points in 2020 but polls suggest is suddenly in play.
Mr. Biden dropped his re-election bid Sunday after a dismal debate performance three weeks ago breathed new life into questions about his physical and mental capabilities to run a strenuous campaign and serve as president for four more years. The President almost immediately threw his support to Ms. Harris, whose relative youth, at 59, compares to Trump's 78 years.
Mr. Vance characterized Ms. Harris as keeping Mr. Biden’s true condition from the American people until he became a political liability.
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Elizabeth Walters on Monday endorsed Ms. Harris.
“Vice President Harris has proven throughout her time in public service that she has the experience to move our country forward and finish the job that the Biden-Harris Administration has started,” she said. “She never backs down when it comes to fighting for workers in Ohio and has been a tireless advocate for abortion rights.”
“I can’t think of a better candidate to take on a 34-time convicted felon who is trailed by the constant threat of more legal action,” she said.
Tom and Melissa Ryan, of nearby Franklin, were in the crowd. The day before they made a point of watching the film adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy depicting Mr. Vance's early life in Ohio and eastern Kentucky.
“It was real life,” Mr. Ryan said. “I lived in Kentucky, I've known people who lived down in Appalachia. All of that is definitely true. My ex-wife had a family that had a dirt living room floor. ... Total poverty, so for him to come from that is really emotional and rewarding.”
“I do think it's great that the first place he thought of was his hometown,” Mrs. Ryan said. “I just love that. We think he's genuine and personable.”
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