Trump returns to Ohio to rally GOP candidates in tight races

President Trump is set to rally at Youngstown's Covelli Centre at 7 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, for Republican Senate candidate Jon Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. A FiftyPlusOne average has Ramaswamy trailing by 4 points and Husted by 3; a Suffolk/USA TODAY Ohio Network poll finds Democrats Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton holding a slight edge. Trump carried Ohio by more than 11 points in 2024. The visit is his second Ohio trip in two weeks and his third at the venue, after July 2017 and September 2022. Vice President JD Vance rallied in Lima on Friday. Lucie Thompson said she plans to vote for Husted but called Ramaswamy "an unknown factor" who has "not really ever held any political offices that I know of." Bill Groom said he plans to back both Republicans yet believes "a lot of people in Ohio are on the fence," tying it to inflation. On Friday Trump said he is "calling for a statue to be returned immediately to where it belongs," of a Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus. Husted was appointed in 2024 after Vance vacated the seat. Brown lost that year to Bernie Moreno. Acton is DeWine's former health director; DeWine endorsed Ramaswamy and Rob McColley.