As former Republican President Donald Trump makes his case to swing state voters, his running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, is heading to the red state of Kentucky to raise money.
Trump was scheduled to be in Michigan Monday to address the National Guard Association of the United States conference. Trump held rallies in Pennsylvania last week while his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, was in the spotlight during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Vance is attending a reception in Lexington Monday for donors with tickets beginning at $2,500 per person, according to the invitation.A campaign spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Andy Barr confirmed that the fundraiser was taking place Monday as scheduled, but had changed locations from Pikeville to Lexington. Barr, a Republican representing Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, is listed as a host of the event.
Other hosts listed include former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft and her husband, coal executive Joe Craft, and Forcht Group Founder and CEO Terry Forcht and his wife, Marion Forcht.
The post said host committees slots cost $100,000, co-chairs positions $50,000 or a roundtable $25,000, all per couple. Photo opportunities were listed at $15,000 per couple.
On Tuesday, Vance is slated to be at a Nashville fundraiser, the Tennessee Lookout reported. Trump won both Kentucky and Tennessee in 2016 and 2020.
Colmon Elridge, the chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party, called Vance in a Monday statement an “out-of-touch phony who called Eastern Kentuckians lazy” ahead of the fundraiser.“JD Vance can try to keep pretending to be an Appalachian, but a ritzy fundraiser — moved out of Pikeville to Lexington — isn’t doing his charade any justice. To put it bluntly, he ain’t from here,” Elridge said.
The chairman’s last line refers to criticisms voiced by Gov. Andy Beshear while he was being considered as a possible running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Vance has some family ties to Eastern Kentucky, which he highlighted in his book, “Hillbilly Elegy.” He grew up in Middletown, Ohio, north of Cincinnati, where Vance’s grandparents had migrated. The family returned often to Breathitt County in southeastern Kentucky where Vance also spent time during summers and owns land.
This story was originally published by the Kentucky Lantern and republished here with permission.
