DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) 鈥� , making his first trip to Iowa since taking office, promoted the administration’s tax and tariff policies while framing the GOP as being on the side of working-class voters as he campaigned in the state where Republicans will cast the initial votes to pick their party鈥檚 next presidential nominee.
Standing before hundreds of supporters at a steel manufacturing facility, Vance repeatedly drew a contrast between Iowa Republican Rep. Zach Nunn and his Democratic challenger, telling the crowd that Nunn and the Trump administration were 鈥渇ighting for you instead of fighting against you鈥� as he attacked Democrats on issues of immigration and fraud.
鈥淭his is not a normal election. This is not a normal political environment,鈥� said Vance, who is seen as for president in 2028. 鈥淭his is a contest between a party that wants to take all of your money and give it to illegal aliens and a contest between gentlemen like Zach Nunn who fight every single day for you.鈥�
Nunn to keep his Des Moines-area seat in . Vance frequently heaped praise on Nunn, calling him 鈥渙ne of those guys who does the right thing, not just when the cameras are on, but when the cameras are off, too.鈥�
The visit to Iowa offered Vance an opportunity to test his reception before Iowa鈥檚 voters, whose give them an outsize role in determining the next presidential nominee. Campaigning for a local congressman in his role as vice president provided him with a chance to make an impression on Iowa Republicans, seasoned evaluators of those who seek the nation鈥檚 highest office, before the campaign begins in earnest.
Vance鈥檚 appearance comes days after Texas , who is also considered a possible 2028 candidate, spoke to a group of evangelical Christians who are influential in Iowa鈥檚 GOP contest.
Jimmy Centers, a Des Moines-based Republican political consultant, said that the 2028 contest is 鈥渓ight-years away鈥� but that the Republicans who hear Vance speak on Tuesday will be evaluating how he might measure up in an election for the White House.
鈥淚 certainly think, as of right now, Vice President Vance would probably be a straw-poll winner of Iowa Republicans for 2028. But I don鈥檛 think anyone is saying, 鈥榃e won鈥檛 consider anybody else,鈥欌�� Centers said.
Vance’s visit comes as higher prices for gas and fertilizer hit Iowans
Vance, who has not said whether he will run for president in 2028, appeared with Nunn at Ex-Guard Industries in Des Moines.
The vice president鈥檚 visit follows in January to tout the administration鈥檚 tax cuts, part of a string of stops they鈥檙e making this year on before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
But Vance鈥檚 visit comes when his own political prospects 鈥� and the message he delivered on the economy 鈥� have been complicated by .
The vice president, who has long been skeptical of foreign military interventions, has seemed , for which Trump has struggled to find an off-ramp. Iowans, like much of the rest of the country, are grappling with because of the conflict. But the state鈥檚 farmers are also feeling the pinch of from the war and have been hurt by tariffs Trump has imposed.
Vance made a nod to those cost struggles in his remarks, saying that he’s aware of the rising price of fertilizer and noted: 鈥淲e got a little blip.鈥� Nonetheless, he said the administration is 鈥渨orking on it.鈥�
While Iowa鈥檚 farmers have steadfastly supported the president, they have been looking to the White House for assurances that the current troubles won鈥檛 last.
Vance, who met with Iowa Gold Star families just before his public remarks, also became emotional as he discussed the sacrifices made by fallen U.S. soldiers and their families. He talked about wondering how he would react if his 6-year-old son, Vivek, who accompanied him Tuesday, told him later in life that he wanted to enlist, saying he would be 鈥渟o proud of him鈥� but also 鈥渟o terrified.鈥�
鈥淓very time that a person gives the ultimate sacrifice to the United States of America … there鈥檚 a whole crew of people who love them the same way that we all love every single member of our family,鈥� he said, adding that 鈥減art of how we earn that incredible sacrifice鈥� is 鈥渂y making this country鈥檚 politics and government worthy of the people who put on the uniform and will never see their loved ones again.鈥�
Earlier Tuesday, Vance, who represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate before becoming vice president, stopped first in Cincinnati to vote in Ohio鈥檚 primary elections and told reporters he was voting for Vivek Ramaswamy in the governor鈥檚 race. Asked about U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, who鈥檚 running in a special election to serve out the remainder of Vance鈥檚 term, Vance said he thinks Husted鈥檚 鈥済oing to do a great job鈥� and has been 鈥済ood for Ohio.鈥�
His 6-year-old son, meanwhile, filled out a ballot for children, which the vice president showed to the poll workers when he cast his own ballot. 鈥淗e voted for the Easter bunny over the tooth fairy,鈥� he said of his son.
Before arriving in Iowa, Vance also appeared in Oklahoma City to hold a fundraiser in his role as finance chair of the Republican National Committee.
It’s 鈥榓wfully, awfully early鈥� in the road to 2028
Kim Schmett, a longtime Iowa GOP activist, said the presidential cycle starts 鈥渄eceptively slow.鈥�
He said Trump鈥檚 Make America Great Again political movement 鈥渋s very alive and going here鈥� in Iowa, which would benefit Vance 鈥� as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also thought to be .
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 going to be a lot of MAGA support,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd Vice President Vance and Marco Rubio seem to be the recipients of where that is going at the moment.鈥�
But Schmett cautioned, 鈥淚t鈥檚 awfully, awfully early in the process.鈥�
On the Democratic side, at least half a dozen presidential prospects have been making visits to the states with the earliest presidential primary contests, including recent visits to Iowa by former Transportation Secretary and Michigan U.S. Sen. .
Meanwhile, potential Republican presidential candidates 鈥渁re treading very lightly,鈥� said GOP strategist Alex Conant, who worked on Rubio鈥檚 2016 presidential campaign.
鈥淚 think Republicans are going to be very reluctant to get in Trump鈥檚 way until Trump gives the green light for the campaign to start,鈥� Conant said.
That means much of the groundwork to meet with donors or activists or recruit political staffers might happen slowly and subtly 鈥� for now.
After the midterms? Conant said: 鈥淚t鈥檒l be irresistible.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report from Washington.
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