Last week, JD Vance gave a speech at a factory in Des Moines, Iowa, that ostensibly was in support of GOP Representative Zach Nunn’s reelection campaign, but rightly has been evaluated as a trial balloon for Vance’s all-but-declared 2028 presidential run. And its message should worry Democrats who are expecting to ride an anti-Trump wave back to power this fall and beyond.
The vice president said the November midterms would come down to one big issue. “It’s fundamentally, do you want people in Washington, D.C., who fight for you, who fight for the people of this district, or who fight for corruption and fraud?” he said.
It might seem surprising, given President Trump’s rampant and ever-expanding corruption, that Republicans think this is a winning issue for them. But much anti-corruption messaging depends on how voters define corruption and who they think is responsible for it. Republicans for years have been pointing fingers at the poor, people of color, urban residents, “welfare queens,” and immigrants. Vance stuck to that message in Iowa because it resonates with rural voters and the kind of persuadable voters the Democratic Party needs to win back. So the Democrats have work to do in redirecting anger over political corruption toward other, more credible targets that will also resonate with these voters.
