Administration

Pence to promote GOP candidates in Iowa, Kentucky and Nebraska

Vice President Pence will travel to Iowa, Nebraska and Kentucky this week to promote the Trump administration’s policies and campaign for Republican candidates, his office announced Monday.

Pence will travel Tuesday to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to speak at an America First Policies event. He will tout the Republican tax-cut bill passed late last year in a district represented by Rep. David Young (R).

President Trump won the district by 3.5 points in 2016, and several Democrats have entered the race to challenge Young in November’s midterm, including a former campaign aide for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), according to The Des Moines Register.

{mosads}Pence will travel later Tuesday to Omaha, Neb., to take part in a campaign event for Gov. Pete Ricketts (R). Ricketts is up for reelection in 2018 and is facing a challenge from state Sen. Bob Krist, who left the Republican Party to mount an independent challenge.

Omaha is also home to Rep. Don Bacon (R), who is looking to hold his seat in a rematch of the 2016 campaign against former Rep. Brad Ashford (D). Trump won the district by 2 points in 2016.

On Wednesday, Pence will travel to Versailles, Ky., to speak at another event focused on the Republican tax-cut bill. 

Rep. Andy Barr (R) represents Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, which includes Versailles. He won reelection by 23 points in 2016, but several Democrats are vying for the chance to challenge him in November.

Pence has acknowledged Republicans face a difficult slate in this year’s midterm elections. The party in power typically loses seats in a midterm year, but Pence has vowed to defy the trend.