Vice President JD Vance is emerging as a key surrogate as Republicans try to retain control of the House in the 2026 midterm elections.Vance has increasingly become one of the GOP’s most visible campaign trail assets, stepping into battleground House districts across the country while President Donald Trump remains consumed by foreign policy and governing battles.Vance returned to the campaign trail on Thursday, this time in Maine to promote the administration’s crackdown on Medicaid fraud with former Gov. Paul LePage. LePage is the Republican nominee to contest Maine’s 2nd Congressional District this November.
Maine’s 2nd Congressional District is seen as a prime pick-up opportunity for Republicans this fall. President Donald Trump won the district by 10 percentage points over former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. The race is open after four-term Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) announced his retirement from politics last year.
“He was the biggest advocate for your tax dollars and the biggest threat to fraudsters that ever existed in the state of Maine,” Vance said. “Let’s send Paul LePage to the U.S. House.”
The swing through Maine is the latest in a string of campaign appearances Vance has made for House Republicans in recent weeks.
