Vance Spends Fall Testing 2028 Pitch Across Ohio and Texas

Vice President JD Vance spent the past few days in Ohio and Texas laying out the core arguments for a potential 2028 presidential bid. In Cincinnati, he discussed his personal history and his role in a federal task force. In Weatherford, Texas, he targeted a local Democratic opponent. These speeches provide a clear look at how he plans to present himself to voters next year.

Vance used his time in Ohio to connect with his roots. He spoke in Cincinnati about his early job as a cashier at Dhillon Foods, a grocery store he said was about 20 miles from the venue. He noted that many of his family members used federal food benefit programs. He used this personal history to justify his work leading the president’s anti-fraud task force. That group aims to find waste in social safety net programs.

The vice president also focused on economic nostalgia in his remarks. In Howell, Michigan, he recalled looking at old football jerseys from his youth. He said the local small businesses that sponsored his teams no longer exist. He blamed politicians in faraway places for the decline of those businesses. He argued that working-class families in Ohio and Michigan paid the consequences for those decisions.

Vance paired these economic points with cultural themes. In North Carolina, he described a time when children from working-class Black and white families played football together without worrying about privilege. He contrasted this with current political divisions. In Texas, he took a more combative approach. He mocked Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico for comments about grappeling with his masculinity. Vance told the crowd there was not much to grapple with.

The vice president also addressed current economic pain points. In Montana, he discussed high gas prices caused by the Iran war. He compared those prices to spikes seen in 1979, 2001, 2007, and 2022. He suggested that price jumps are a recurring result of geopolitical events. He also acknowledged high beef prices, citing consolidation among meatpackers as the main cause.

Vance’s speeches show a different style than President Trump. His delivery is described as more practiced and less comedic. He uses a more traditional populist message that emphasizes community and local business. He also experiments with informal language, including occasional swear words. This approach aims to offer a distinct alternative to the president’s performance for Republican voters in 2028.