VANDALIA, Ohio – OCTOBER 3: U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage to speak at the Butler Vandalia Student Activities Center during a campaign rally on October 3, 2026 in Vandalia, Ohio. (Photo by Robert Schmidt/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump used Saturday’s Ohio rally to mix profane attacks on Democrats with promises of financial aid if Republicans win the midterm elections and warnings that Democrats would be less willing to work with states if they win.
“Just go out and vote,” Trump said at a rally for Republican candidates, including Sen. Jon Husted and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. “Then we’re going to win, we’re going to win big, and we’re going to push their grades.”
President Trump’s approval ratings have declined in recent months amid the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and rising prices for gasoline and other essential goods, and several incumbent Republican senators across the country face stiff political headwinds in the Nov. 3 election. Mr. Husted and Mr. Ramaswamy are both running against Democratic opponents.
Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is running against Husted. Amy Acton will face Ramaswamy.
Ohio is a key state for midterm elections
Opinion polls suggest Democrats will likely gain an advantage in the midterm elections that will decide control of the narrowly divided House and Senate, but President Trump said Republicans will do better than critics expected. “I think there’s going to be a big surprise because they don’t know what’s going on,” he told the crowd in Vandalia, Ohio.
Ohio is one of eight U.S. Senate districts rated as competitive. The state has become a battleground for campaigns over culture war issues such as data centers and transgender surgeries for young people.
Trump repeatedly attacked Democrats during his speech, at one point calling them “stupid idiots” and arguing that keeping Republican control would give Ohio officials more direct ties to the administration and make it easier for the state to secure federal aid.
He said he frequently receives calls from Ohio Republican officials asking for funding for the state, adding that he is less likely to respond to Democrats if they win key races. “But I’m not going to help her,” Trump said of Acton.
While Mr. Husted is looking to Mr. Trump to galvanize his supporters who may be absent from the midterm elections, the senator also directly criticized Mr. Brown, a veteran Democrat who has achieved little in his political career. “He’s been in that job for 50 years, can you name one thing he’s done for you?” Husted told the gathering.
A Brown campaign spokesperson criticized Husted for supporting President Trump’s policy toward Iran and said he supports the “sweetheart tax deal” that would bring data centers to Ohio.
“Jon Husted has always put corporations and billionaires first, and we all pay the price for that,” Brown spokeswoman Lauren Chow said in an email to Reuters.
Trump won more than 55% of Ohio’s votes in the 2024 presidential election, but his approval ratings have since declined due to economic concerns.
Gasoline prices in Ohio have increased 35% in the past year to an average of $4.16 per gallon, according to AAA, which compiles data on car travel. President Trump’s trade policies toward Canada will lead to retaliatory tariffs by Canada, impacting about $3 billion in Ohio exports based on 2025 numbers, CBC reports.
Data center discussion
Husted told reporters shortly before speaking at Saturday’s rally that the United States must win the Iran war “on our terms,” while “showing the people that I’m fighting to keep prices down.”
He addressed a sympathetic crowd at the rally, but he also needs to get his message across to people like independent voter Jonathan Smith.
Smith, a 19-year-old construction worker, was holding a placard that read, “Where’s the cheapest gas?” outside the former high school in Vandalia, north of Dayton.
“Sometimes I have to save for a wedding, and as gas prices keep going up, it’s getting harder and harder to save money,” Smith said, adding that she was still deciding who to vote for in the Senate race.
Outside political groups have poured tens of millions of dollars into Ohio, making Husted-Brown the second-most expensive Senate race in the nation, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Participants at the rally shared a variety of opinions on hot-button issues regarding the state’s data centers.
“I’m not really interested in AI data centers,” said Samuel Clevenger, 20, when discussing Husted’s candidacy. But the apprentice plumber said he was motivated to vote by President Trump’s focus on the state and his 2025 policy that would cap taxes on overtime pay.
On the other side of the rally, Brenda White, 60, held up a sign promoting the construction of Data Center South Lorain in the northeastern Ohio town.
Husted met with voters in the bleachers and urged senators to support building the center instead of the steel mill. “Do you want a data center there?” Husted asked.
Before Mr. White could take a picture with Mr. Husted, a man close to the senator asked, “Can I take a picture without an autograph?”
