Vice President JD Vance is beginning the final stretch of his midterm campaigning with a trip to red America. On the heels of his party’s unusual midterm convention, Mr. Vance, who is one of Republicans’ most valuable surrogates, is deploying to the Kansas City area on Monday to campaign alongside Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, a Republican.
He also held an event in Missouri on the administration’s effort to combat fraud. Vance’s visit could suggest that Republicans are worried about yet another state that President Trump won in 2024, as the party steels itself for tougher-than-expected Senate races in places like Texas, Iowa and Ohio. A combination of high prices, the unpopular war with Iran and Mr.
Trump’s low approval ratings have created stiff political headwinds for the party. Trump himself will visit North Carolina, where his party’s Republican nominee, Michael Whatley, a former chair of the Republican National Committee, is trailing former Gov. Roy Cooper in polls of the state’s Senate race.
Democrats see the seat, which is held by the retiring Republican, Senator Thom Tillis, as crucial to their chances of retaking the chamber. Quality polls of the Senate race in Kansas are limited, but the available surveys suggest that the race between Mr. Marshall and Adam Hamilton, a Democrat and the pastor of a liberal megachurch in the Kansas City area, is closer than Republicans would like it to be.
Vance said before departing for the Kansas City area on Monday. Marshall, an obstetrician-gynecologist, has faced blowback over an investigation by The New York Times, which found that he sued more than 700 patients for debts. Records showed that 81 of those patients were arrested over missing court dates.
Patients also had their bank accounts and wages garnished, and were routinely charged an 18 percent annual interest rate. The story has been picked up by local news outlets. Marshall has also drawn criticism from the conservative radio host Todd Starnes, who said he needed to address the report directly.
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