2026-09-18T21:28:32.909Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/politics/jd-vance-iowa-campaign
副总统JD·万斯于周五开启艾奥瓦州竞选行程——这个他的上司以两位数优势拿下的州，如今正上演竞争激烈的参议院和州长选举——他以“艾奥瓦价值观”为核心打出了民粹主义竞选口号。
只不过参议院共和党候选人、众议员阿什利·辛森并未到场，而这位副总统也几乎未提及她的竞选活动。
“向一位出色的公职人员致敬——我知道她今天无法到场，但我们会选举阿什利·辛森成为艾奥瓦州下一任联邦参议员吗？”万斯在康瑟尔布拉夫斯的一场集会上向观众问道。
这是他在30分钟的竞选演说中唯一一次提及这位连任三届的国会女议员及其竞选活动，演说中他大力吹捧了共和党州长候选人以及立场坚定的红区艾奥瓦州第四国会选区。
辛森曾是记者，2020年击败时任民主党现任议员首次登上新闻头条，此次她的对手是州议员、前残奥会选手乔希·图雷克。自2008年以来，艾奥瓦州还从未有民主党人赢得参议院席位，但民主党正试图利用选民的不满情绪和经济焦虑发起攻势。唐纳德·特朗普总统限制进口牛肉关税的决定在艾奥瓦州引发了强烈反响，该州是美国最大的牛肉生产州之一。
而辛森似乎正是那些试图与不受欢迎的特朗普总统保持距离的共和党候选人之一。
她公开反对特朗普的牛肉关税政策。她的竞选团队本周发布了一则新广告，宣传自己跨越党派界限的努力，而CNN的一项最新分析显示，近几周来特朗普在共和党竞选广告中被提及的频率普遍较低。
据《纽约时报》报道，周五当天辛森并未出席康瑟尔布拉夫斯的这场活动，其发言人表示这是因为此前已安排了其他活动。CNN已联系辛森的竞选团队置评。
万斯发表讲话数小时后，特朗普发布了一段视频声明，对辛森的候选人资格表示“完全且彻底的支持”，并罕见地同时在Truth Social和X平台上发布了这条消息。
周五在椭圆形办公室发表讲话时，特朗普对中期选举做出了较为坦率的评价，告诉记者他认为11月的选举“会势均力敌”。
“我希望共和党能取得好成绩，”他说，“但结果会非常接近。”
万斯的艾奥瓦州之行是他近期一系列全国巡回竞选活动的最新一站——本周刚去过堪萨斯州，上个月则前往了密歇根州、缅因州和俄亥俄州。正如他在近期公开活动中所做的那样，这位副总统刻意在风格和基调上与总统保持距离，他向选民承认仍有“大量工作要做”，同时吹捧本届政府的政绩，并可能为未来以总统候选人身份重返艾奥瓦州铺路。
针对这个农业州调整竞选信息的万斯，特别强调了“美国食品”——包括削减对农民的监管、扩大牛肉、乳制品和玉米的出口。
但他也将11月中期选举的意义上升到了全国层面，警告观众民主党领导人认为“这个国家需要彻底变革——而正是艾奥瓦州这样的州的普通民众挡住了这条路”。他提及了堪萨斯州和密歇根州参议院选举中的民主党候选人，但未提及艾奥瓦州的对手，也从未提到图雷克。
特朗普2024年在艾奥瓦州以13个百分点的优势获胜，该州近年来一直是坚定的红州。但根据内森·冈萨雷斯主持的《内部选举》评级，辛森的竞选被评为“倾向共和党”。而民主党州审计员罗布·桑德与共和党商人、农场主扎克·莱恩之间的州长竞选同样竞争激烈，《内部选举》将其评级为“倾向民主党”。
万斯在演说中用了大量篇幅为莱恩造势，并抨击桑德是“极左翼分子”和“职业政客”。作为目前艾奥瓦州唯一一位担任全州公职的民主党人，桑德有着多次在艾奥瓦州当选的亮眼履历。
“女士们，先生们，你们有机会向罗布·桑德乃至整个民主党传递一个信息：把那些疯狂之举拒之门外，学着为美国民众而战，做出改变。11月投票给扎克·莱恩，”他在竞选演说的结尾说道。
CNN的杰夫·泽莱尼为本报道撰稿。
Vance campaigns in red Iowa but barely mentions competitive Senate race
2026-09-18T21:28:32.909Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/politics/jd-vance-iowa-campaign
Vice President JD Vance hit the trail in Iowa Friday — a state his boss won by double digits that’s now home to competitive Senate and gubernatorial contests — and made a populist pitch for “Iowa values.”
Except the Republican nominee for Senate, Rep. Ashley Hinson, wasn’t there, and the vice president barely mentioned her race.
“A shout out to an amazing public servant — I know she couldn’t be here today, but are we going to elect Ashley Hinson the next United States senator for the great state of Iowa?” Vance asked a crowd in Council Bluffs.
It was his only reference to the three-term congresswoman or her race in a 30-minute stump speech that heavily touted the GOP nominee for governor and the solidly red 4th Congressional District.
Hinson, a former journalist who first made headlines when she ousted an incumbent Democrat in 2020, is running against Josh Turek, a state legislator and former Paralympian. A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race in the Hawkeye State since 2008, but the party is looking to capitalize on voter discontent and economic anxieties. President Donald Trump’s decision to curb tariffs on imported beef has been resonant in Iowa, which is among the nation’s largest beef producers.
And Hinson appears to be among the Republicans in tightening races who’s trying to put some distance between herself and the unpopular president.
She has spoken out against Trump’s beef policy. Her campaign released a new ad this week highlighting her efforts to reach across the aisle, which comes as a new CNN analysis shows that Trump has seldom been mentioned in Republican ads more broadly in recent weeks.
Then on Friday, she didn’t attend the Council Bluffs event, with a spokesperson pointing to previously scheduled events, according to the New York Times. CNN has reached out to Hinson’s campaign.
Hours after Vance’s remarks, Trump posted a video statement with his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Hinson’s candidacy, taking the rare step of posting the message on both Truth Social and X platforms.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump gave a somewhat candid assessment of the midterms, telling reporters he believes the November elections will be “pretty close.”
“I hope the Republicans are gonna do well,” he said. “It’s gonna be pretty close.”
Vance’s trip to Iowa was the latest in a series of swings across the country — from Kansas earlier this week to Michigan, Maine and Ohio last month. As he has in recent appearances, the vice president put some stylistic and tonal distance between himself and the president, acknowledging to voters that there is still “a lot of work to do,” while touting administration accomplishments and potentially laying the groundwork for a return to Iowa as a future presidential candidate.
Tailoring his message to the agricultural state, Vance placed special emphasis on “American food” — including cutting regulations for farmers and boosting exports of beef, dairy and corn.
But he also nationalized the stakes of the November midterms, warning the crowd that Democratic leaders believe “this country needs to be utterly transformed — and it’s ordinary men and women in states like Iowa who are standing in the way.” He alluded to Democratic nominees in the Kansas and Michigan Senate races, but not in Iowa. He never named Turek.
Iowa, which Trump carried by 13 points in 2024, has been reliably red in recent years. But Hinson’s race is rated “Tilt Republican” by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. The governor’s race — between Democrat Rob Sand, the state auditor, and Republican businessman and farmer Zach Lahn — has also proven competitive. It’s rated “Tilt Democratic” by Inside Elections.
Vance spent a significant portion of his speech rallying for Lahn and attacking Sand as “far left” and a “career politician.” Sand, the only Democrat to hold statewide office, has a long track record of winning elections in Iowa.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you have an opportunity to send not just Rob Sand but the entire Democrat Party a message: Check the crazy at the door, and learn to fight for Americans for a change. Vote Zach Lahn in November,” he said in his closing pitch.
CNN’s Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.
发表回复