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Vice President JD Vance made his first trip to Iowa since taking office to campaign with Rep. Zach Nunn, pitching the administration’s tax and tariff agenda to Republican voters in Des Moines. Standing at Ex-Guard Industries, Vance framed the GOP as aligned with working-class priorities and used the stop to elevate Nunn as a reliable partner heading into the November midterms.
Vance repeatedly contrasted Nunn and the Trump administration with Democrats, telling the crowd that Nunn and the administration were “fighting for you instead of fighting against you” as he attacked Democrats on immigration and fraud. He also praised Nunn as “one of those guys who does the right thing, not just when the cameras are on, but when the cameras are off, too.”
The Iowa visit also served as a test of Vance’s reception with the state’s GOP, where the earliest presidential caucuses are expected to give Iowa an outsize role in determining the eventual 2028 nominee. Campaigning for a local congressman in his role as vice president, Vance sought to make an impression on Iowa Republicans before a broader presidential campaign begins in earnest.
In remarks that also touched on the national cost pressures faced by Iowans, Vance acknowledged rising prices for fertilizer and gas that have been felt amid the war in Iran. He said he was aware of the rising fertilizer price and noted: “We got a little blip.” Even so, he said the administration was “working on it,” while the state’s farmers continued to look for assurances that the economic problems would not last.
Before his public remarks, Vance met with Iowa Gold Star families and became emotional as he discussed sacrifices made by fallen U.S. service members and their families. He also described a conversation with his 6-year-old son, Vivek, who accompanied him Tuesday, saying he wondered how he would respond if the child later wanted to enlist—saying he would be “so proud of him” but also “so terrified.”
Vance’s appearance in Iowa came after other campaign activity in the election cycle. Earlier Tuesday, he stopped in Cincinnati to vote in Ohio’s primary elections and told reporters he was voting for Vivek Ramaswamy in the governor’s race; asked about U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s special election to serve out the remainder of Vance’s term, he said he thought Husted was “going to do a great job” and had been “good for Ohio.” Vance’s son also participated in the day’s voting events by filling out a ballot for children, which the vice president showed to poll workers when he cast his own ballot—saying, “He voted for the Easter bunny over the tooth fairy.”
Political observers framed the stop as part of a slow-start phase for the 2028 nomination contest. Kim Schmett, a longtime Iowa GOP activist, said the presidential cycle starts “deceptively slow,” adding that Trump’s Make America Great Again movement was “very alive and going here” in Iowa—an environment he said could benefit Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Schmett cautioned, however, “It’s awfully, awfully early in the process.”
GOP strategist Alex Conant, who worked on Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign, said potential Republican presidential candidates were “treading very lightly,” arguing that Republicans would likely be reluctant to get in Trump’s way until Trump gave the green light for a formal campaign to start. Conant said the groundwork with donors and activists could remain subtle for now, but that after the midterms, he expected such moves to accelerate. On the Democratic side, at least half a dozen potential presidential prospects have been visiting states with early primary contests, including recent stops in Iowa by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin.
Vance has not said whether he will run for president in 2028, but his role on the campaign trail in Iowa and remarks aimed at connecting economic policy to everyday costs underscored how closely Republicans are beginning to evaluate the field well before the nomination fight formally heats up.