Trump backs GOP hopeful in key race
LEWIS CENTER, Ohio — President Donald Trump touted economic growth, his tariff war and efforts to revive manufacturing at a central Ohio rally Saturday to drum up support for the Republican candidate in a closely watched congressional race.
The president delivered his remarks at Olentangy Orange High School in Lewis Center, swooping into Delaware County to provide GOP muscle for state Sen. Troy Balderson ahead of the special election Tuesday.
Mr. Balderson is vying for the vacant 12th Congressional District seat against Democrat Danny O’Connor in a race that polls show in a dead heat.
The last special election before the midterms, the race is being watched as a bellwether of the November general election. Vice President Mike Pence has been to Ohio to stump for Mr. Balderson, and millions of dollars from outside the state have poured into the race.
“We have the greatest economy in the history of our country,” Mr. Trump told the crowd, who waited for hours in line and inside a sweltering gym to see him.
He and other speakers touted last month’s announcement that gross domestic product is up, growing at an annualized rate of 4.1 percent. “Our country has never been like this — the levels of enthusiasm the likes of which we’ve never seen,” he said.
As Mr. Trump tweeted earlier in the day about his trip to Ohio, Mr. O’Connor promoted his campaign on Twitter Saturday.
“I’m focused on talking to Ohio voters right now. We’ve got an election to win in just three days,” he wrote.
The president, who spoke for a little over an hour, was joined by other Republican figures including U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan who has found his bid for speaker of the House challenged by claims he knew about sexual abuse that allegedly took place while he was a coach for the Ohio State wrestling team.
After about 15 minutes on the podium, Mr. Balderson was invited up to speak. “It’s truly a humbling experience to be on stage with the president. I am humbled by your support. It has been overwhelming. In 2016, Ohio was the battleground for the presidential election. Your vote helped Donald J. Trump get into the White House.”
The 12th District, drawn to be favorable to Republicans, incorporates rural counties and also suburbs north of Columbus, the state capital and Ohio’s most populous city. It is in suburban areas where Democrats in Ohio and across the country are hoping to capture moderate GOP voters. Tuesday’s race comes after former U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi resigned in January after 17 years to lead the Ohio Business Roundtable. From 1983 to 2001, the district was represented by Gov. John Kasich. It hasn’t sent a Democrat to Congress since 1981.
Though boisterous and bellicose, Mr. Trump steered clear of the trouble he stirred up the night before when he blasted one of Ohio’s favorite sons, LeBron James. In a late-night tweet, he derided the intelligence of one of the nation’s most prominent African-American men.
But while he didn’t mention the Akron native, he did invoke similar rhetoric while training fire on one of his new favorite targets, Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California. He tore into Ms. Waters, who is also black, and derided her as “an extremely low IQ person.”