DALLAS — Vice President JD Vance leaned on his family and the memory of Charlie Kirk to shore up support among young men and independents, the very voters Republicans need to win over before November’s 2026 midterm elections. 

Polls show voters have soured on the Trump administration amid the six-month-old Iran war, rising gas prices, and inflation keeping the cost of living high. Vance did not run away from the issues during his keynote address at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas on Thursday, but chose instead to recognize it.