Trump Jr., DeSantis to Headline GOP Events in Valley
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Two key Republican figures will visit the Mahoning Valley in the next two weeks to campaign for GOP candidates, though not without some confusion over the venue for one of the events.
Donald Trump Jr., eldest son of former President Donald Trump, will headline a rally Aug. 22 at the Eastwood Event Centre in Niles in support of state Rep. Mike Loychik’s reelection bid.
Three days before, on Aug. 19, Turning Point Action, a conservative advocacy group, will host Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a Unite and Win rally at the Metroplex Expo Center in Girard to support GOP U.S. Senate nominee J.D Vance. Other rallies are being held by Unite and Win n New Mexico, Arizona and Pennsylvania to support Republican candidates in those states.
Tickets are available at Eventbrite for $40 for the Aug. 22 Rally with Donald Trump Jr., which will begin at 6 p.m.
Doors open at 5 p.m. for the Aug. 19 DeSantis-Vance Rally, with the event beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available here.
According to initial press reports, the Vance-DeSantis event was to be held at the Blue Wolf Events Center in Youngstown but the operator of the center subsequently told local news outlets that the venue hadn’t been confirmed and in fact was already booked for that date.
Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point Action, characterized DeSantis as “America’s governor and one of the most popular leaders in the country,” in a news release announcing the rallies.
“He has become the model for a new conservative movement that is willing to stand on principle and to actually fight on behalf of the values of his voters,” he added.
Loychik, R-63 Bazetta, earned notoriety shortly after taking office in early 2021 by proposing to introduce legislation to rename Mosquito Lake State Park after Trump. Earlier this year, he introduced legislation to establish a “major air hub council” that would examine the feasibility of creating two new hub airports, one in Portage County, just west of his northeastern Ohio district, and in Fayette County in southwestern Ohio.
In November, Loychik will face independent candidate Jennifer Donnelly of Cortland.
Vance, who received former President Trump’s endorsement about two weeks before the Ohio primary, emerged as the victor of the often acrimonious GOP contest, besting a field that included former state treasurer Josh Mandel and former state GOP chairwoman Jane Timken.
The author and venture capitalist will face U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-13 Howland, in the general election for the seat being vacated by Cincinnati Republican Rob Portman, who is stepping down after two terms.
Despite Trump having won Ohio by eight percentage points in both his successful 2016 campaign for president and his unsuccessful bid for reelection four years later, polling shows a tight race, including several that show Ryan with a slight edge.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
