With just two days until New Englanders hit the polls, Sen. JD Vance held a rally in Derry, New Hampshire, Sunday evening, making one final pitch to undecided voters in the Granite State.
The vice presidential nominee spoke for just shy of 30 minutes at the New England Sports Center. He spent a good chunk of that time laying into Vice President Kamala Harris, coming down hard on the economy and illegal immigration.
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“Since Kamala Harris in her economy, she likes to see a lot of Americans lose their jobs. I think the only American who needs to lose her job is Kamala Harris and that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” Vance told the New Hampshire crowd.
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"You’re going to have sky rocketing housing costs when you have American homes go not to American citizens but thanks to Kamala Harris, people who don’t even have the legal right to be here,” he continued in his speech. “New Hampshire schools, crowded with children who don’t even speak English which deprives our kids.”
That issue resonated with some voters in the crowd, including Atkinson resident Stefanie Ahearn.
"I think education with the schools getting overrun with immigrants coming in is a big issue, too,” Ahearn said.
Vance also discussed the opioid crisis and how it has affected his family, something else that voters took notice of.
“The fentanyl issue particularly in New Hampshire is terrible, and he could speak from experience in terms of how that affects families and I think it’s a powerful message,” Bedford resident Greg Lake said.
Still, voters' concerns are wide ranging.
“Access to healthcare and our healthcare system drowning is really my biggest concern,” Cara Watson, of Atkinson, shared.
Earlier Sunday, New Hampshire democrats held a press conference of their own denouncing Vance and former President Donald Trump.
“It’s time once and for all to turn the page on Trump and JD Vance and the extremism that they embody,” VA Secretary Maura Sullivan said.
“The world's greatest democracy has no use for would-be autocrats who divide our country, praises dictators, and tried to overturn our election,” Sen. Maggie Hassan said.
But the Republican vice presidential nominee ended his rally Sunday night with this: “The only thing that is broken about the United States of America is Kamala Harris’ broken leadership and in two days, lets go change that.”
Several recent polls have showed Harris taking a slight lead in New Hampshire, but the race is tight, and it remains to be seen if this rally could move that needle.
The Trump campaign had said Saturday that Vance would be holding Sunday night's rally alongside Donald Trump Jr., however Trump Jr. did not speak at the event, and it wasn't immediately clear if he was in attendance.
The chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party had released an earlier statement in response to the scheduled appearance of both men, saying in part, "JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr. are two of the most extreme Republicans in the country, and they don’t share the values that make the Granite State such a special place – Vance supports a national abortion ban, has continued to invite attacks on our democracy, and has pledged to be loyal to the ugly, unhinged politics of Donald Trump."
"We look forward to turning the page on Tuesday and ensuring we never have to deal with one of their little rallies again,” Ray Buckley concluded.
The Granite State has seen several politicians on the campaign trail in the past week, including former President Bill Clinton, who spoke in support of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
