President Donald Trump returns to Ohio on Saturday evening, headlining a rally at Butler High School in the Dayton suburb of Vandalia. The event, hosted by the Republican National Committee, opens at 5:30 p.m., with Trump expected to take the stage at 7 p.m. He will be joined by U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and other Republican officials.
The visit lands exactly one month before the Nov. 3 election, with Republicans locked in tight races for governor and U.S. Senate. Husted faces former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in a contest that could help decide which party controls the Senate. Voters will also choose between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Dr. Amy Acton for governor. Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to the Senate after JD Vance became vice president; the winner will serve the final two years of Vance’s term.
Polls suggest Ohio could be competitive despite Trump’s three statewide victories. A Suffolk University/USA TODAY Ohio Network survey put his Ohio approval rating at 35 percent, with voters weighing high gas prices — AAA put the state average at $4.16 a gallon — and broader economic worries.
“I would imagine that (Trump) takes a lot of pride in having shifted the quintessential battleground state that Ohio has always been,” said University of Dayton political scientist Christopher Devine. The Ohio stop is part of Trump’s pledge of 32 days of campaigning ahead of the midterms; earlier this week he campaigned in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.
