JD Vance returns to Iowa for a midterm rally as he lays groundwork for his own ambitions

Vice President JD Vance traveled to Iowa for the second time this year to campaign for Republican majorities in Congress as he lays the groundwork for his own political ambitions.

Vance will be the headliner Friday at a midterm rally in Council Bluffs, on the western edge of the once-Republican stronghold state, which has found itself with competitive races for the Senate and the governor's mansion this year.

Council Bluffs, located along the Missouri River, is home to Josh Turek, the Democratic nominee for the Senate who represents the area in the Statehouse.

"It's no mystery why Vance is here," Turek wrote in a fundraising appeal ahead of Vance's visit. "It's because his billionaire bosses are terrified that their grip over Iowa is slipping — and with it, their narrow Senate majority."

But his opponent, Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, will not attend the rally Friday due to previously scheduled events, her campaign said.

Zach Lahn, the Republican nominee for governor, will attend. He is in a competitive race against Democrat Rob Sand, the state auditor and one of the party's most highly touted candidates.

Vance took his first trip to the state as vice president in May, campaigning alongside Rep. Zach Nunn, one of the party's most endangered incumbents this year. Nunn and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, another Iowa Republican, voted Tuesday in a symbolic measure to halt the war in Iran, underscoring how the military conflict that President Trump launched is causing political troubles for his own party.

At the May event, Vance touted the administration's tax and tariff policies at a steel manufacturing facility while warning that this year was "not a normal election" and "not a normal political environment."

The vice president has been one of the most visible surrogates on the midterm campaign trail, jetting to locations such as Kansas, Wisconsin and his native Ohio to promote Republican candidates and the administration's achievements.

Friday's rally location is in Iowa's 4th Congressional District, which is being vacated by Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra after his failed bid for governor. Democrat Dave Dawson and Republican Chris McGowan are vying for the seat. That race is not considered one of the more competitive races in this election.

Vance's visit to the state shows Republican candidates are in political trouble in November, said Katie Smith, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in a statement.

"Iowans have had enough of their D.C.-first, Iowa-last priorities and will hold them all accountable for their agenda that's caused skyrocketing prices at the pump, grocery stores, and doctor's office," Smith said.