Vice President JD Vance is heading into competitive races this week as President Donald Trump begins his fall campaign push in Oklahoma and Alabama, two reliably Republican states without marquee contests expected to determine control of Congress.
The split screen comes as Vance has emerged as one of the administration’s most prominent campaign surrogates and as polling shows the vice president remains significantly less unpopular nationally than Trump.
Vance is headed to south Texas on Wednesday, where he will headline a midterm rally meant to boost a handful of Republicans in competitive House races, including Republican Eric Flores, who is challenging Rep. Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (D-TX) in the state’s 34th Congressional District. Trump won the district by double digits in 2024.
The vice president is also set to stump in Lakeland, Florida, to help boost Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) in his gubernatorial bid on Thursday. He is also set to attend a fundraiser with the Trump 47 Committee while in Lakeland.
Trump, meanwhile, will be in Oklahoma and Alabama. Both states are comfortably Republican, although the president and his allies say additional trips to more competitive territory are coming. They also note the Oklahoma and Alabama media markets bleed into Florida and Texas, states with more competitive contests on the ballot.
The contrast in campaign schedules comes as polls show Vance performing somewhat better with voters than the president. On average, Trump has a 59.9% unfavorable rating and a 38.7% favorable rating. Vance’s stats are slightly better. He has a 48.9% unfavorable rating on average and a 40.8% favorable rating.
Sources close to the White House said it is expected that Vance and other administration officials would increase their campaign travel as the midterm approaches, in a strategic manner to boost turnout.
But Vance is increasingly taking center stage. At the Republican National Committee midterm convention in Dallas, Trump originally was supposed to give the keynote address on the final night but switched speaking spots with Vance, allowing the vice president to give a rousing final keynote speech to attendees.
Although Trump has not endorsed a successor, political experts say Trump is doing all he can to tactfully boost his vice president.
“Here’s what we know: that it’s a huge nation, and the White House needs to divide and conquer it,” said Anthony Holm, a veteran GOP strategist and former spokesman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “Certainly, Vice President Vance is exceptional at staying on message, and this is the last big opportunity for Vice President Vance to generate electoral energy and relationships prior to what everyone expects to be his contesting for the presidential nomination in two years.”
Several Republicans have publicly split with Trump over individual administration policies. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), for example, has criticized aspects of the administration’s aggressive deportation policies.
Donalds, meanwhile, recently removed much of the Trump-focused material that had appeared on his campaign website, fueling speculation that he was putting some distance between himself and the president. Donalds has rejected that interpretation, saying the website was redesigned for the general election, and has publicly welcomed campaign appearances by both Trump and Vance.
The RNC dismissed suggestions that Republicans are reluctant to campaign alongside Trump, contrasting the GOP’s approach with vulnerable Democrats who have shown an unwillingness to campaign with former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
“While vulnerable Democrats openly beg Kamala and AOC not to campaign for them, Republican candidates across the country are chomping at the bit to have the president and vice president rally in their states,” said Natalie Baldassarre, the RNC’s national press secretary. “The president will be barnstorming the country in battleground districts and beyond to drive voters to the polls, supercharge our Republican candidates, and protect and expand our majorities.”
A source close to the White House and familiar with the administration’s thinking said Trump will also go to Florida, Texas, Ohio, and other battleground states in addition to visiting Oklahoma and Alabama this week.
“For whatever reason, these two states were picked first for the president, but that’s not any indication that the president is worried about going into battleground states,” the source said. “We obviously care about winning, and we’re not going to be sending the president into places where his attendance or rally is going to be hurting our candidates.”
Trump also promised a campaign swing through Iowa during an Oval Office event on Monday.
“I’m going to come to Iowa. I got more votes than anybody in history during the last election,” Trump said when announcing a new steel plant in Iowa with Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA). “I will say that we’re going to do a great rally, and we’ll all be there together. We have to get you all elected.”
Vance, meanwhile, has already been making stops in some of the country’s higher-profile races. He visited North Carolina to stump for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley and has campaigned in Iowa and Michigan.
TRUMP TAKES A RED-STATE SWING AS GOP SPLIT ON WHETHER THOSE STATES ARE IN PLAY
The vice president’s high profile could help, but it could also hurt him for 2028. If the midterm elections are disastrous for the GOP, Vance may face some blame. Yet, some Republicans say Vance has no choice but to hit the campaign trail.
“If he weren’t out front and center, and the midterms didn’t go well, the same attacks would be leveled against him,” said one Republican strategist. “He has almost nothing to lose and everything to gain.”