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Donald Trump is set to embark on his final campaign rally ahead of the midterm elections on Tuesday as he shows support for his endorsed Ohio candidates.
The former president will hold a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Monday to campaign on behalf of a series of MAGA Republicans running in the midterm elections.
These include Ohio Senate hopeful J.D. Vance, representatives Jim Jordan, Mike Turner and Warren Davidson, as well as congressional hopefuls Max Miller and J.R. Majewski.
In a statement announcing the other guest speakers at the rally, Trump's Save America PAC said: "In 2020, more Ohioans voted for President Trump than any other candidate in the state's entire history.
"President Trump's visit to the Dayton area comes on the heels of record-setting 40-year high inflation in the Buckeye State, where nearly 70 percent of all Ohioans agree the country is heading 'in the wrong direction' under Joe Biden."
With more than 200 Trump-endorsed midterm candidates on the ballots on Tuesday, the results are not only important as the GOP hopes to regain control of the House and Senate, but a sign for the former president's own ambitions.
Since the moment he left office in January 2021, Trump has hinted he plans to run for the White House again in 2024.
Trump is widely expected to wait until after the midterm elections to announce formally that he is running for the presidency again. He hopes the success of the GOP in the elections, including his own MAGA allies, will be the stepping stone to prove his continuing influence on the party.
There were even reports that Trump had to be talked out of announcing his 2024 run during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, so as not to take attention away from Tuesday's vote.
In returning to Ohio on Monday, Trump will be aiming to influence voters so Vance can beat Democrat Tim Ryan to the Senate seat. It will be one of the key swing races of all the midterm elections, with the winning candidate's party likely to control the upper chamber overall.
If Vance does triumph—which a number of polls suggest he might—the former president will almost certainly use the Hillbilly Elegy author's victory to cement his reputation and powerful influence over the Republican Party, just like when Vance secured the GOP nomination following Trump's endorsement.
Vance won the GOP primary for the Ohio Senate seat in May, having been behind in the polls before the former president intervened.
David Niven, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati, previously told Newsweek that, even while securing only around one-third of the total votes, the power of Trump can be seen in how many other GOP primary candidates ran a "Trumpier-than-thou" campaign, including supporting the false claim that the 2020 election was rigged.
"Ohio Republicans have long favored polite conservatives like Rob Portman. But that era has ended," Niven said. "Ohio catches up with Republicans across the nation who like their candidates fire-breathing and grievance-fueled."
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more