NBC News
· collected 2026-10-04 · by Henry J. Gomez
President Donald Trump rallied Saturday for Republicans in Ohio’s competitive races for Senate and governor, predicting that the party will defy expectations in a choppy midterm election climate.
asserted
party → rally → climate
“I think we’re going to have a big surprise, because they don’t know what’s happening,” Trump said while speaking onstage inside a high school gymnasium near Dayton.
asserted
Trump → think → Dayton
“Just get out and vote,” Trump added.
asserted
Trump → get → ?
“If you do that, we’re going to win, and we’re going to win big.
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we → do → that
And we’re going to shove it up their ass.”
asserted
we → go → ass
The visit, part of what White House officials have told NBC News will be a push through at least 17 states between now and Nov. 3, was aimed at boosting incumbent Sen. Jon Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP nominee for governor.
asserted
officials → tell → governor
Trump, who won Ohio three times by comfortable margins, opened his speech with praise for both before moving into broader remarks to promote himself and his administration.
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who → win → himself
He also offered support for local Rep. Mike Turner and for several House candidates in attendance, including Derek Merrin, the Republican running against longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in northwest Ohio.
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He → offer → Ohio
Husted’s bid to keep the Senate seat — which he was appointed to after JD Vance was elected vice president — has in particular become a subject of concern among Republicans in Ohio and Washington.
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Vance → keep → Ohio
In August, the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned in a memo that Husted’s past enthusiasm for building data centers was hurting his campaign.
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enthusiasm → warn → campaign
Others have expressed worries that Husted, who has long wanted to be governor, has not put his full heart into the race.
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who → express → race
Along with a handful of other key contests, the clash between Husted and Brown could determine partisan control of the chamber.
uncertain
clash → determine → chamber
This week, Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, poured another $14 million into Ohio to prop up Husted, bringing the group’s investment in the state to $93 million.
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Fund → affiliate → million
“Senator Jon Husted votes to put Ohio first, and he votes all the time,” Trump said before relating conversations he’s had with Thune and others: “They think he’s phenomenal.”
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he → vote → Thune
The high school gym where Trump spoke Saturday night was a smaller venue than has been typical for his rallies.
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Trump → speak → rallies
The home court of the Butler High School Aviators seats up to 5,000.
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court → seat → 5,000
There were several stretches of empty seats in upper bleachers as Trump took the stage — and many more by the time he finished speaking 93 minutes later.
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he → be → time
In Ohio and elsewhere, Republicans are wrestling with how to win at a time when polls show Trump and the war in Iran are highly unpopular and when voters most loyal to Trump might stay home because he’s not on the ballot.
uncertain
he → wrestle → ballot
“As a lifelong Republican who’s voted in every election since I was 18 and in every primary election as a Republican, I have real concerns that we’re going to be able to turn out the every-four-year Trump voter,” Nick Owens, a former GOP chair in Ohio’s Brown County and former member of the state Board of Education, told NBC News last month.
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Owens → vote → News
“I have real concerns that those voters just will not come to the polls.”
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voters → have → polls
Trump acknowledged that dynamic explicitly Saturday and repeated an argument he’s been making on the campaign trail this fall.
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he → acknowledge → trail
“When I run, we win,” Trump said.
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Trump → run → ?
“But for some reason, when I don’t run, they draw 44% less people.
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they → run → people
So what I’m going to do is ask you to just pretend that I’m running, because if we do, and if you draw the people, you’re going to win, and we’re going to win big.”
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we → go → people
Husted, speaking to reporters before the rally, described Trump as a unique asset in his race.
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Husted → speak → race
“Well, he won Ohio by 11 points in the last election, and if we get those same voters to turn out in this election, we’ll win,” Husted said.
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Husted → win → election
Alex Triantafilou, the Ohio GOP chair, told NBC News that the rally was “hugely important” in the effort to motivate those low-propensity, Trump-loyal voters.
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rally → tell → voters
“We know in Ohio that if we turn out the same electorate that we turned out in 2024, that we’ll win every race,” Triantafilou said in an interview.
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Triantafilou → know → interview
“Nobody speaks to that crowd better than President Trump.”
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Nobody → speak → Trump
The Saturday rally included a cameo from Jon Gruden, the former NFL coach who years ago was a teammate of Husted’s on the University of Dayton football team.
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who → include → team
“Jon Husted is a lot more than my friend,” an animated Gruden told the audience.
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Gruden → tell → audience
He will never quit on you or anybody.”
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He → quit → you
Trump marveled about Husted’s football-playing days, of which he said he was unaware until hearing about them from Gruden.
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he → marvel → Gruden
“Nobody told me you were a great athlete,” Trump said, before taking a jab at his Democratic rival: “And Brown was not — he was not an athlete.
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he → tell → rival
That guy can’t tie his shoes.”
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guy → tie → shoes
For its part Saturday, the Brown team sent a mobile billboard linking Husted’s support for the war in Iran to higher gas prices through Dayton and on the streets near the rally.
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team → send → rally
“Jon Husted has turned his back on working families — he’s only looking out for his billionaire buddies and special interests,” Brown said in a statement from his campaign.
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Brown → turn → campaign
Ohio also is home to what polls show is a close race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
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polls → show → DeWine
Ramaswamy faces Democrat Amy Acton, a physician who served as the state’s health director under DeWine.
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who → face → DeWine
Ohioans have not elected a Democrat as governor in 20 years, but at a time when high prices rate as a top-of-mind concern for voters, there are questions about the billionaire Ramaswamy’s appeal, especially in the rural parts of the state.
asserted
prices → elect → state
…and 21 more, not listed.
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