Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle debuted as a duo on the campaign trail Thursday with three stops in Ohio, a critical battleground in the midterm elections.
President Trump’s eldest son and the former Fox News television personality, who are romantically involved, headlined a luncheon for Rep. Jim Renacci, the Republican Senate nominee, near Columbus, that raised $50,000.
Later that afternoon, they traveled nearby to join Rep. Troy Balderson, fresh off his victory in the closely-watched special election in the 12th Congressional District, for a meet-and-greet that drew 100 people.
In the evening, Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle were the draw at a fundraiser hosted by Republican donor Bob Sebo and his wife for Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, the GOP gubernatorial nominee. The event, about 75 miles southeast of Cleveland, raised more than $250,000. A knowledgeable Republican source shared the information with the Washington Examiner.
“They were originally supposed to come to Ohio just for the DeWine event, but wanted to help as many candidates supportive of the Trump agenda as possible while they were in town,” the source said. “Expect them to be a regular fixture on the campaign trail together moving forward.”
The midterm elections are less than two months away and Republicans are clinging to a 23-seat House majority, as voters in the suburbs threaten to defect from the GOP and support the Democrats. Balderson, who barely won a special election in August in a suburban Columbus seat that has been in Republican hands for decades, is on the front lines.
The visit by Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle was no doubt scheduled to boost GOP turnout in the exurban and rural portions of the 12th District that are big backers of the president. If they stay home or don’t show up in sufficient numbers on Nov. 6, Balderson could be overwhelmed by the support for Democratic nominee Danny O’Connor.
In the Senate, a favorable map is positioning the Republicans to hold their one-seat majority.
But Renacci is struggling to gain traction against Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. Trump won Ohio by 8 points in 2016, but the contest is not the radar of the major GOP money groups. The president, who personally recruited Renacci into the race, doesn’t appear to be giving up on Ohio yet, a sentiment reflected by Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle’s fundraising assistance (Trump Jr. also campaigned for Renacci in June in Cincinnati).
DeWine, whom Republicans feel confident about, is running against Democrat Richard Cordray. This past week, Cordray welcomed former President Barack Obama to Ohio to campaign for him.
